Ginger Christmas II
by JunoInferno
Summary: Christmas is never ordinary with the Doctor and his family. What happens when the children of the world stop believing in Father Christmas? Can the Doctor, Donna and their daughter help them believe and get to the bottom of the mystery in time? Part of the Regarding Mrs Smith ficverse, though you don't have to read all of that to follow.
1. Chapter 1

Author's Notes: I do not own Doctor Who, which should be obvious because there's a Christmas special with some killer snowmen on Tuesday and I didn't write it. This is in the Regarding Mrs Smith universe, set after The Best Is Yet To Come, but you don't have to read that. Basically, it's Christmas. A lot of fluff and I accidentally invented a plot. Thanks and happy reading!

* * *

_Once upon a time, there was a Time Lord who married the Most Important Woman in the Universe and together they had beautiful ginger children. Every year, no matter where they were, they always came back to London for Christmas..._

Donna stood in the kitchen of the London house, making lunch. Geoffrey sat in his high chair watching his mother with obvious delight. Zara and Chloe sat at the table. They had set upon a very important project: writing letters to Father Christmas. They were taking great pains with it, using crayons and glitter glue.

"Mummy," said Zara.

"Yes, sweetheart?"

"How does Father Christmas know what to get Geoffrey? He can't write a letter."

"Well, babies get a pass," said Donna.

"How can he know if he's been good or bad?"

"All babies are good," said Donna. She leaned over to Geoffrey and smiled. "Isn't that right?," she asked as he cooed back.

"Not Melody," offered Chloe.

"She's right," said Zara.

They had recently taken the TARDIS to Leadworth to attend Melody Williams' christening. That meant being introduced to Melody who, as it turned out, was the loudest, most crying baby in recorded history. The Doctor thought she might cry longer than some babies with four lungs. She had cried all through the service and had managed to break up her own party in about twenty minutes. Not helping was Zara calling her tart, resulting in Donna's cheeks turning a bright crimson for about two days.

"Come on, girls," said Donna. "You can't blame a baby for crying. They don't know any better."

"Can you make a sandwich for Stefano?," asked Zara.

"Of course I can," said Donna with a smile. "Is cheese alright?"

"Stefano eats everything," said Zara. "Can he have some biscuits?"

"Hmm," said Donna. "I think his mum would like it better if he had a bit of fruit first."

"Okay," said Zara.

Donna put a plate down in front of Chloe, then Zara and then the empty place next to Zara. Zara put a banana on Stefano's plate and stood up.

"Where are you going?," asked Donna.

"To give Stefano his lunch."

Zara then walked out to the back garden. Donna frowned as the Doctor came in the kitchen.

"What's wrong?," asked the Doctor.

"Zara's imaginary friend is eating outside."

Now the Doctor frowned. "Does Zara have an imaginary friend?"

"Of course she does. I've been making him lunch since we got back last week. Stefano."

The Doctor cleared his throat. "Uh, Donna, Stefano's not imaginary."

"What?," asked Donna.

"Haven't you seen the young man with the red hiking pack?"

Donna's jaw dropped. "What? Him?! With the tattoos and the nose ring! You knew about this?!"

"Well, I don't see the harm, Donna, he's just-"

Before the Doctor could further outline his argument, Donna was out the back garden door. The Doctor sighed. "Oh, here we go..."

"Mummy's mad," said Chloe.

"I'm aware!," said the Doctor.

* * *

Donna walked out onto the street. She saw Zara down the block talking to a rather thing young man. His pack sat on the pavement as he ate gratefully. Donna rushed down.

"I tried to bring biscuits, but Mummy said you had to have fruit first."

"Zara!," shouted Donna.

Stefano looked up. "Is this your mum?"

"Yes, Mummy, don't you know-"

"Zara, what are you doing? You can't talk to strangers, let alone feed them!"

Stefano looked down and Donna felt a twinge of awfulness. The Doctor arrived holding Geoffrey in one arm and holding Chloe's hand with the other.

"Hello, Stefano!," he said brightly.

"Hello, Doctor," said Stefano.

"Why can't I talk to strangers?," asked Zara.

"What? Who said that?," asked the Doctor.

"Mummy."

The Doctor looked at Donna. "Zara can't talk to strangers? Who is she going to talk to?"

Donna held her head in her hands. "Everyone back inside and finish your letters to Father Christmas."

Donna started in with Zara and Chloe.

"Uh, I'll bring you some tea by later," said the Doctor.

* * *

The Doctor went back in. The girls finished their lunch and went to the sitting room to help Esther write her letter to Father Christmas. The Doctor had been holding Geoffrey the whole time, waiting for his lecture from Donna. It began as soon as she saw the girls into the hallway.

"Don't you ever watch the news?," asked Donna.

The Doctor thought. "Uh, here and there. They usually get it wrong."

"You can't let children talk to strangers," said Donna.

"You take them to Father Christmas," said the Doctor.

Donna shook her head. "That's different."

"How is that different?"

Donna leaned forward. "Do you not find it unsettling to say the least that a child with multiple kidnap attempts against her doesn't have the slightest qualm about talking to strangers all day long?"

"He's just a boy, Donna. He's harmless. He ran away from home, everyone's been there."

"No, everyone has not been there. I have not been there."

"Yes, you have," said the Doctor.

"No, I haven't."

"Yes, you did. You ran away with me."

Donna shook her head. "I did not. I was thirty-seven. You can't run away when you're thirty-seven. It's not running away then, it's just going somewhere."

"Oh, it was so running away," said the Doctor. "Besides, I was at least four hundred when I left Gallifrey."

Donna rolled her eyes. "I just want her to be safe. Zara is just so..."

"Innocent," said the Doctor.

"Yeah," said Donna.

"Plenty of time to tell her the truth about the world later," said the Doctor. "Besides, she knows there's good and bad, Her world is more like a fairy tale."

"A fairy tale?"

"Yes, she's a princess in her mind- or maybe she got that from Disney, I'm not sure- her mother is the most important woman in Creation and her dad's a Time Lord."

Donna frowned. "I don't know any fairy tales with a Time Lord."

"Don't be ridiculous. All fairy tales have a Time Lord. Old hag in the beginning of Beauty and the Beast. Fairy Godmother in Cinderella, how else do you think the pumpkin happened? Fairly certain Rapunzel is part Time Lord. I'm still working that one out. That sorcerer in Fantasia Mickey is apprentice to? He was my uncle."

Donna shook her head as the Doctor claimed to be related to a character from Fantasia."Well, whatever. We had better hurry. We've got to get ready for Mum's party."

The Doctor groaned.

"I'll have none of that, Time Boy. We promised. Besides, I'm still hearing about her missing Geoffrey's birth. That reminds me, have you sorted out what you're getting her for Christmas?"

The Doctor frowned. "Getting her? Don't the children count?"

"No, they do not."

"Mummy!," Zara called from the sitting room. "We're ready to send our letters! Should I start the fire?!"

"No!," the Doctor and Donna shouted in unison as they rushed into the sitting room.


	2. Chapter 2

Author's Notes: I do not own Doctor Who. Thanks for the reads and reviews. Now, for the special guest star portion, in my mind he's played by Daniel Craig, but that may just be my watching that Children in Need sketch with Catherine Tate too much. Please insert the guest star of your choice. Thanks and happy reading!

* * *

After the Doctor started a fire with his sonic screwdriver, the girls burned theirs, Geoffrey's and Esther's letters for Father Christmas. Then it was time to begin the arduous task of getting the children ready for Sylvia's party. The Doctor had learned in such situations it was better if he just put on a fresh suit and did his hair and took orders. There were some things a Time Lord had to accept if he was going to be married to a human and one of those was visting the mother-in-law.

The Doctor pulled the saloon in front of the Noble house. He could already hear the notes of Slade's "Merry Xmas Everybody" wafting from the house.

"Why is that song always playing?," asked the Doctor.

"Okay," said Donna, "just as a reminder, you're Doctor John Smith, a consultant and we've been travelling. We are extremely normal."

Donna got out of the car. The Doctor looked back at the three Time Babies buckled in the backseat.

"This is going to be a massive failure," he said.

"Yes," said Zara.

"Yes!," added Chloe.

Geoffrey cooed in agreement.

* * *

They walked inside. The punch was flowing. Most of the Noble and Mott family relations were gathered inside and already chatting a way, a mile a minute. They did their usual round where the children were shown off and Donna's aunts pinched the baby's cheeks.

"You're late," said Sylvia.

"We're fine, Mum," said Donna. "We're here, aren't we?"

"Sylvia, could I get a copy of your Christmas list?," asked the Doctor.

Sylvia glared. "I don't have a Christmas list."

"When do you think you'll have one ready?," asked the Doctor.

"Doctor," said Donna, "adults don't have Christmas lists."

"What? Since when? You gave me one."

"Because it's just easier to tell you," said Donna.

"Let me just make sure I have this right," said the Doctor, "the children who are easy to shop for and will be pleased with anything write out lists but the adults who are difficult to shop for and won't be pleased as easily don't have a list at all and I'm just meant to guess?"

Sylvia crossed her arms. "I thought you were meant to be a genius."

"Well, I am, but I'm not a psychic, am I?"

"You're telepathic." offered Donna.

"That's hardly the point, Donna, what I'm saying is that this midwinter custom-" The Doctor began rambling through his answer. He was mercifully saved by an unfamiilar voice from across the room.

"Donna!"

A man was walking towards them. One that the Doctor didn't recognize. He was very... good looking, not better looking than him, but... Well muscled and with a chiseled face, wearing an expensive suit. Usually the sort of man who was pointing a gun at him.

What he noticed most was that he was headed towards his wife.

"Alex!," said Donna. "Oh my God!"

"How are you?," asked the man, smiling as he leaned over to give Donna a hug.

"Good!," said Donna. "Good!"

"Busy I see," Alex said, motioning at Zara and Chloe standing at her skirt.

"Yes," said Donna. "Busy. Very busy. My God, when did I see you last?"

"I think you had just gotten that job at Health and Safety," said Alex. "We were supposed to have drinks, but I got called out of town. Then when I came back, your grandfather said you had gone travelling."

"Yes," said Donna. "Travelling."

"That's us," said the Doctor, trying to edge in. "Travelling."

Alex looked the Doctor up and down. "You must be John."

"Yes, I must be."

"Do-, John, this is Alex Wroughton," said Donna. "We grew up together. His mum and dad live just across the road."

"Really?," asked the Doctor. "Never mentioned him."

Donna frowned. "Didn't I?"

"No, you didn't," said the Doctor, with a plastered on grin.

"That's alright," said Alex. "I never heard of you until my mum told me Donna had gotten married."

"Oh, my God," said Donna. "You have to tell me what you've been up to."

Donna and Alex then found a spot on the sofa and started chatting. The Doctor went in search of Wilf.

"Wilfred," said the Doctor, locating him in the kitchen near the punch bowl. He was wearing reindeer antlers again as he had since the first day of December.

"Oh, happy Christmas, Doctor!"

"Who is that Donna's talking to?"

Wilf glanced back out at the sitting room. "Oh, that's little Alex Wroughton."

"He's not so little," remarked the Doctor. "Who is he?"

"Donna's mate. Growing up."

"What do you know about him?"

"Oh, he's got some important job in the foreign service. His mum is always on about him."

"What sort of job?"

"Something hush hush. He travels a lot. Hasn't been around here in a while. His mum's over the moon he's going to be home for Christmas."

"Oh, I'm sure she is..." said the Doctor, looking back at the sitting room. Donna and Alex were laughing now. "Best mate? He wasn't at the wedding to Lance, not at Zara's christening..."

"Work. Always working he is."

The Doctor looked back. Now Alex had Zara laughing.

"Oh! That's just ridiculous!," said the Doctor.

Wilfred glanced back. "Doctor, are you jealous?"

The Doctor looked back at Wilf sternly. "Wilfred, Time Lords do not get jealous." He walked away and back to the sitting room.

"Really?," asked Wilf, to no one in particular. "Sure looked like it."

The Doctor walked back into the sitting room.

"So, Zara," asked Alex, "are you looking forward to Christmas?"

"Yes," said Zara, "we're going to Harrod's to meet Father Christmas tomorrow. We go every year. One year I got a reindeer."

"Oh, so now Zara gets to talk to strangers?," the Doctor whispered to Donna.

"He's not a stranger. He's Alex."

Alex smiled. "You know, there was one year where some people said they saw a reindeer in Hyde Park."

Zara had opened her mouth. "Isn't that something?," Donna interrupted. "Zara, Chloe, why don't you go see if Gran has some biscuits?"

The girls scampered off.

"They are lovely, Donna," said Alex. "Remind me of you."

"Oh, thanks," said Donna.

"So, Alex," said the Doctor, "what's going on with you then?"

"Going on with me?"

"You know, what do you do?"

"Alex works at the Foreign Office," said Donna.

"Oh, it's nothing," said Alex. "I'm just a bureaucrat. What about you, John?"

"Me?," asked the Doctor. Donna was already staring him down as he prepared to answer. "I am a consultant. Just your normal, average, everyday consultant, consulting on things..."

"What do you consult on?"

"Oh, you know. Security issues. Environmental matters. Lunar events. Cheese making."

"Cheese making?," asked Alex.

"He's joking," said Donna. "He says daft things all the time. Just ignore him. I mean, really, really, ignore him."

"How did you and Donna meet?," asked Alex.

"There was a bride-" started Zara.

"Zara!," Donna interrupted to see that the girls had returned. "Why don't you go ask Gran for biscuits?"

Zara frowned. "I don't want biscuits. I just had some."

"Sweets! Bananas! Go on. Take Chloe along."

Zara frowned and took Chloe by the hand. They scampered off again.

"So, Alex, we've been chatting all about me," said Donna. "What have you been up to? Anyone special?"

"Oh, you know me. Work, work, work."

"Oh, that's a shame," said Donna.

"I have managed to keep up my salsa dancing, though," said Alex.

The Doctor frowned. "Salsa dancing?"

"Really?," asked Donna.

"What about you?," Alex asked with a smile.

"Oh, God, I haven't gone in years," said Donna.

"Salsa dancing?," repeated the Doctor.

"Why not?," asked Alex. "You were so good."

"Oh, stop," said Donna, handing Geoffrey off to the Doctor.

"Salsa dancing?," asked the Doctor.

"It's nothing," Donna said with a dismissive wave of the hand.

"Nothing!," exclaimed Alex. "We won first place!"

"Is someone going to tell me about the salsa dancing?!," exclaimed the Doctor.

Donna looked at the Doctor. "We went to salsa dancing classes together. Is that alright with you?"

The Doctor's mobile rang.

"Aren't you going to get that?," asked Alex.

The Doctor grimaced as he took the baby and walked into the back garden.

"Hello?"

"Doctor?" He heard a timid voice on the other end, one he hadn't heard in several years. "Doctor, this is John Frobisher. I don't suppose you-"

"John Frobisher. Government's middleman with the 456, orchestrated the plan to hand my wife and children over. Yes, I remember you."

There was a long pause. "Something else has come up. I wonder if you could take a look."

"What is it?"

"It's difficult to explain over the phone. Perhaps we could set something up at my office at your convenience, of course. Would tomorrow be alright?"

"I can't do anything tomorrow. I'm already booked to meet Father Christmas and have princess makeovers."

There was another long pause on Frobisher's end. "I'm sorry?"

The Doctor noticed that Geoffrey had turned to look inside the window of the house and was clapping his hands. He quickly found the reason why: Donna and Alex were salsa dancing to much acclaim.

To the tune of "Love Don't Roam."

"What?!," shouted the Doctor.

"Doctor. Sorry, did you say something?," asked Frobisher.

The Doctor hung up the mobile.

That's our song!," shouted the Doctor. He looked down at Geoffrey. "I'm not making this up! She told me it was our song! She lectured me because I didn't know it was our song! Then we argued, then, well, then I can't tell you the rest of the story."

Geoffrey just cooed happily.

"Fine," said the Doctor. "Just take your mum's side because she's got milk. I could have mammary glands if I wanted them. I know a place."

* * *

On the drive home while the Time Babies napped in the backseat, the Doctor tried to express his concerns over the co-opting of their song, only to find that Donna was taking it quite the wrong way.

"Oh, my God, you're jealous!," said Donna.

Very wrong, really.

The Doctor shook his head. "No, I do not get jealous."

"No, you were not jealous when you thought all my exes were losers. And it's so dumb, Alex doesn't even like me."

The Doctor thought he was going to have to pull his jaw up off the steering wheel. "Doesn't like you! He's mad about you! Honestly, salsa dancing."

Donna rolled her eyes. "We've known each other since we were two! Honestly! It's not like that! We're just mates!"

"Right," said the Doctor. "Just mates. Because there's never been more between two people who say they're just mates."

Donna groaned. "Well, not like us then. Like actually just mates."

"That was our song," said the Doctor.

"Oh my God, it was a playlist on my iPhone. It was the first thing that came up! It was that or 'Radar Love'!"

The Doctor frowned. "You have 'Radar Love' on your phone?"

"You're just upset because you thought every man I knew was a complete loser."

"Well, yes! Because you didn't mention him!"

"Oh, and I'm sure I've heard of every woman you've ever known."

The Doctor stared out the window. "Was that building always there? Carmichael Industries?"

"You are changing the subject," said Donna. "You don't see me getting jealous of Martha or Sarah Jane or-"

"Tegan," said the Doctor. "Nyssa. Jo. Ace. Romana-"

"Yeah, I still haven't made up my mind on that one," said Donna.

There was silence for a moment.

"We need a new song," said the Doctor.

"You can't pick a new song," said Donna. "We've already got a song and it's fine."

"I never got to pick a song," said the Doctor. "How is that fair? I'll go back in time. I'll find one of the great composers to write us a song. Ha! Let's see Alex try to salsa to that!"

"Just to be perfectly clear," said Donna, "you're not jealous."

"No, Donna, Time Lords don't get jealous."

"Of course not," said Donna. "You do know you passed the house five minutes ago?"

There was silence as Donna looked at the Doctor for a response.

"Yes, of course I knew that," said the Doctor.

"Still driving the wrong way."

"This is the scenic route. Much better this way."


	3. Chapter 3

Author's Notes: I do not own Doctor Who. Thanks for the reads and reviews. So, apparently this Disney thing at Harrod's was a thing this year, I don't own it. Anyway, let me know what you think and happy reading!

* * *

The next morning the Doctor and Donna awoke early to get the children ready for the annual trip to Harrod's. He ducked out from the preparations to put in a phone call.

"Hello?," Ianto asked groggily.

"Ianto! I need you to go and do whatever Torchwood thing you do and look up someone!"

There was a pause. "Doctor, is that you?"

"Yes. Are you on your computer?"

"Give me one moment." There was a delay as the Doctor heard some getting up sounds. "Alright, who is it?"

"Alex Wroughton. He's supposedly some old friend of Donna's. He's gone and stolen our song. I tried to get some people to write a new one, but all that happened was that Freddie Mercury wrote something that I can't let Donna find out about."

"What song?," asked Ianto.

"Never mind that! Look him up!"

"I don't have to look him up. I already did."

"You did? When?"

"Around four years ago, when I had to go through Donna's contacts so no one would accidentally bring back her memory. He was on there. Hold on, I think I've still got it all on file."

"On file?"

"Yes, he left her several messages. First was, 'Coming into town. Can't wait to see you.' The second dated after the planets mess, 'Wanted to check on you.' A bunch more, asking why she hadn't answered."

"Didn't you look into him?"

"I tried."

"What do you mean you tried?"

"I mean I didn't get very far."

"You're Torchwood."

"Yes and I couldn't get anything. The man barely exists."

"He said he works at the Foreign Office."

"Yes, I did find a file at the Foreign Office," said Ianto. "It was perfect."

"What do you mean?"

"It was a little too perfect. As if someone just wrote the file in case someone happened to look."

"What do you mean?"

Zara ran in the room, jumping up and down. "Daddy! We have to go meet Father Christmas!"

"I'm talking to Ianto, Zara," said the Doctor.

This only caused Zara to jump up and down and hold out her hand for the phone. The Doctor relented and handed her the mobile as Donna came in the room with Chloe and Geoffrey.

"Someone's excited," said Donna looking at Zara.

"Uncle Ianto's on the phone," said the Doctor.

"Really?," asked Donna. "I didn't think we'd hear from him until tomorrow. Oh, God, the Mayans weren't right, were they?"

"No, I just rang him for something," said the Doctor.

"What?," asked Donna.

The Doctor's mind drew a blank when he tried to think of a better explanation. "Nothing, nothing, absolutely nothing..."

"Yeah, I believe that," said Donna. "Well, hurry it up. We have appointments to keep. Zara, say goodbye to Ianto. We'll see him tomorrow."

"Bye bye, Ianto!," said Zara. The Doctor reached for the mobile just as Zara ended the call and handed it back to him.

"I was going to talk to him more," the Doctor said despondently.

"Doctor! Come on!," said Donna.

* * *

They went to Knightsbridge and at Harrod's. Zara was already ahead of them as they went to the lift with Chloe and Geoffrey in the double pushchair. She had spoken nonstop the whole morning.

"Well, then," said the Doctor. "I wonder if there's anything on this floor."

"Daddy! We have to see Father Christmas!," Zara protested.

"Oh, I doubt it," said Donna, pushing the pram out of the lift. "Probably loads of old socks."

Zara sighed. Then she turned and saw the words that every little girl, part Time Lord or not, wanted to see.

"Disney!," she screamed. She turned to face the Doctor and started jumping up and down. "Disney! Disney! Disney!"

"Oh, did you want to go in?," asked the Doctor.

Zara answered by turning and running.

"And she's off," said Donna.

They walked inside after Zara. She had continued jumping up and down, already making it to a large statue of Cinderella among all the Disney decorations, including statues of Mickey and Goofy.

"Daddy! Take a picture!"

She then happened to glance past the doorway and saw a pink salon full of little girls trying on...

"Glass slippers!," Zara shrieked and went running.

They had finally managed to catch up with Zara as she was forced to stop to inquire about how to get some glass slippers. They weren't really glass, just very sparkly with tiny crystals, which was more than enough for her and she was soon fitted with her very own pair of glass slippers and a brand new Cinderella dress.

"Daddy, why aren't there more ginger princesses?," asked Zara.

"I don't know," said the Doctor, helping her through a display of story books. "Seems a shame, though."

"I think it's because a lot of princes like little blondes who do what they say without questioning," Donna offered as she and Chloe went through a nearby display of dolls.

"Yes, but then they see the error of their ways," said the Doctor.

"I don't want this rubbish!," said a little girl nearby. "I want a Carmichael toy!"

The girl's embarrassed parents dragged her away.

"Well," said the Doctor, "someone's been naughty."

"We had better get this paid for," said Donna, motioning towards their items, "or we'll be late for our appointment with Father Christmas."

The girls jumped up and down.

* * *

The Doctor queued up with Donna and the children. Zara held his hand, bouncing around in her new shoes, eager to catch a glimpse of Father Christmas.

"Do you think he'll remember me, Daddy?," asked Zara.

"Oh, I'm certain he will," said the Doctor. "How could anyone forget you?"

Zara beamed.

"He's not real," said the boy in front of Zara.

"What?," asked Zara.

"Shut it," Donna said to the boy sharply.

"Everyone knows," said the boy as his parents looked embarrassed. "Mister Carmichael has told everyone. He's giving out presents, not fake ones."

"Father Christmas is real," said Zara with a look that betrayed the level of intellect she thought the boy to have.

"Your parents buy the presents. That's why poor kids don't get any."

Zara looked up at the Doctor. He knew immediately this was an instance where being a champion liar was going to serve him well.

"I buy the presents? Are you insane?," said the Doctor. "Don't you think if I bought you all those wonderful presents I would take the credit for it?"

"See," said Zara, looking pointedly at the boy. "My daddy knows everything and he says Father Christmas is real and besides, he always brings me presents, even when I lived in Leeds."

The Doctor frowned. "Leeds?"

Donna leaned over to the Doctor. "She means the Time Beetle universe," she whispered. Donna looked at the boy's parents. "Why are you even bringing him if he doesn't believe in Father Christmas?"

"We made the booking in September," the mother said apologetically.

"God forbid we lose out on the ten pounds," the father said, rolling his eyes.

"I'll prove it," said Zara.

The Doctor found himself surprised at hearing a sentence come out of Zara's mouth that was usually coming out of his mouth.

"How?," asked the boy.

"I'll ask him for a present," said Zara, "and I won't tell Mummy and Daddy and on Christmas day, I will have it and you'll see."

The Doctor exchanged glances with Donna.

"Zara..." began Donna.

"That's how it starts," said the girl behind them, maybe eight. "Your parents start making excuses."

Her elder brother in a matching reindeer jumper joined in. "If he's real, how does he get around the world in one night?"

Zara snapped her head back. "Time travel."

"There's no such thing as time travel," said the boy with the reindeer jumper.

Zara shook her head at him. "Of course there is!"

"How does he fit his presents on the sleigh?," asked the girl.

"It's dimensionally transcendental," said Zara. She looked at the Doctor. "Daddy, tell them!"

"What?," asked the boy in the jumper.

"It's bigger on the inside," supplied the Doctor. "It's physics."

"Now tell them about time travel!," Zara demanded.

The Doctor leaned down. "Zara, do you remember how I explained that there's some things that the human race is not ready to hear and we just have to keep to ourselves about travelling through time and space?"

"But they said Father Christmas isn't real and he is."

The Doctor nodded. "Right..."

"Well, he is!," said Zara.

"Just ignore them, sweetheart," said Donna.

"But they are being stupid!," said Zara.

The Doctor looked at Donna. "Definitely your daughter."

"Zara, just calm down or we'll have to leave the queue and miss our visit with Father Christmas," said Donna.

Zara crossed her arms and pouted.

They finally arrived at the front of the queue to an exasperated Father Christmas. He looked anxious as Zara approached him.

"Why are you letting them say you're not real?!," asked Zara.

"Sorry about that," said the Doctor.

"Oh, no need to apologize to Father Christmas-"

"But then again, why are you letting everyone say you're not real?," asked the Doctor. "Can't be good for business."

"I can't stop them," said Father Christmas. "It's this Mister Carmichael."

"Mister Carmichael," said the Doctor. "What's he do?"

"He owns a toy company. He wants to put Father Christmas out of business."

Zara threw her hands up. "Just tell them about the time travel!"

"Time travel?," asked Father Christmas.

"Uh, yes," said the Doctor, "I've explained how you use a time field coming from the North Pole to expand compressed time so you can visit all the children of the world in one night."

"Right..." Father Christmas said slowly.

"Yes!," said Zara. "Tell them!"

Father Christmas sighed. "What do you want for Christmas, little girl?"

Zara got up on the bench next to Father Christmas. "This is good. You have to get it so everyone knows you're real."

Zara whispered into Father Christmas' ear as the Doctor and Donna exchanged concerned glances.

"Well," said Father Christmas, looking confused, "I'm sure that will be under the tree for you on Christmas morning."

"Thank you!," said Zara, giving him a hug.

Chloe and Geoffrey had their turns, then they all took pictures. As the family waited to collect them, Zara explored the Christmas display and noticed some children pointing at her. Some were laughing.

"Thirty quid for photos," said Donna looking at the pictures. "Ten pounds booking fee. You would think Father Christmas could look a little more cheerful."

"Well," said the Doctor, looking around at the gathering of unimpressed children, "it's a tough crowd."

A little girl, maybe five, walked up to Zara. "They said you said Father Christmas is real."

"He is!," Zara protested.

"How do you know that?"

"We ought to get going," said Donna. "Maybe Winter Wonderland can save the day. Or maybe we should try Father Christmas at Selfridge's or something. Wait, do you have an explanation for why Father Christmas can be in two places and probably look different?"

The Doctor paused. "Are you seriously asking me if I have an explanation for why one man can be in different places at the same moment in time and have different appearances?"

Donna took a moment. "Okay, that was dumb."

"Zara!," called the Doctor. He looked around and spotted her talking conspiratorially with another little girl.

"Zara! We're going!," said Donna.

Zara finished her conversation and scurried back over, taking the Doctor's hand as he held it out for her. "Did we interrupt anything?"

"No," said Zara.

"How about lunch, sweetheart?," asked Donna as she put Chloe back into her seat in the double pushchair.

"Okay," said Zara.

The Doctor looked to see where Zara's attention had been drawn: towards a group of pointing, laughing children.

"Oh, ignore them, Zara," said the Doctor. "I used to get laughed at all the time. Look at me now."

Zara looked at the Doctor questioningly.

"Okay, maybe not the best example," said the Doctor. "Come on."

* * *

That night, Donna knocked on Zara's open door. She looked up from rearranging Pooh Bear and Mister Scallofrax. Esther was already asleep at the foot of the bed. Donna sat down next to her.

"Did you have a good day at Harrod's?," asked Donna.

"Yes," said Zara. "Nobody believes in Father Christmas, though."

"Well," said Donna, "that's alright. You believe in him and that's enough."

Zara looked down.

"Sweetheart, when you brought up Leeds today..." said Donna. "You understand that it wasn't real? I mean, it was, but it never should have happened. It was a trick. Last time I get a free fortune, that's for certain. That's a lesson for you, never take anything when someone says it's free for redheads."

"Father Christmas was real there, too! He brought me a present!"

Donna nodded. "Yes, I know."

Zara frowned. "Don't you believe in Father Christmas?"

"Yes, of course I do," Donna said quickly, not wanting to ruin it.

"Maybe Daddy could take us to see him at the North Pole," said Zara. She looked behind Donna. "Couldn't you, Daddy?"

Donna looked back to see the Doctor.

"No, Zara, can't do that."

"Why not?," asked Zara.

"First, the workshop and elf housing and so forth only exist in a different plane of reality that intersects with our universe and is impossible for the TARDIS to get a lock on the coordinates."

"Oh," said Zara.

"Also, children are not allowed," said the Doctor.

"Oh."

"Now, enough of all that, let's have a story," said the Doctor. He held up one of the books they had bought at Harrod's, a shiny new Cinderella book. "Ready?"

"Are you going to do the Time Lord version?," Donna asked with some dread.

"I like Daddy's version," said Zara.

"It's a half hour longer," said Donna.

"Well, Daddy's version it is," said the Doctor.

Donna returned to the master bedroom and got ready for sleep as Geoffrey slumbered in the small cot next to the bed. The Doctor returned from Zara's room and joined her.

"Why can't you ever just use the words 'It's magic'?," asked Donna.

"Zara would never accept that," said the Doctor. "She's got your heart, Donna, but she's got a Time Lord's mind. She needs belief and hope, but she can't have it blindly, so we have to give it to her."

"Yeah, but does every fairy tale have to have a Time Lord in it? I mean, you made the Little Mermaid a Time Lord."

"No, Ursula just used a chameleon arch. Fins to legs, Donna, how do you suppose that happens without some biology altering matrix?"

"Uh, magic?," asked Donna.

The Doctor smiled as he snuggled up next to Donna.

"They said Mister Carmichael told them," said the Doctor.

"Sorry?," asked Donna, already dozing off.

"That Carmichael Industries building. I don't remember it from last time."

"Maybe it's new," said Donna.

"Oh, I bet it's very new," said the Doctor.

* * *

Later that night, Esther followed Zara as she walked downstairs to what had been the Doctor's fake office. She pulled the laptop out.

"You believe in Father Christmas, don't you, girl?," asked Zara.

Esther barked.

"What do you mean 'yeah, sure'?," asked Zara.

Esther barked again. Zara shook her head.

"Well, I'm going to tell everyone," said Zara. "Just you wait."


	4. Chapter 4

Author's Notes: I do not own Doctor Who. Thanks for the reads and reviews, I'm glad you're enjoying it. Happy Christmas Eve or possibly Christmas. Happy reading.

* * *

The Doctor awoke the next morning to find Zara was not in her bed. He searched the house.

"Zara?," the Doctor called. "Zara?"

"In here, Daddy!"

The Doctor breathed a sigh of relief as he located Zara in the former office. She was playing on the laptop with Esther asleep next to her on the floor.

"You're up very early," said the Doctor.

"I wasn't sleepy," said Zara.

"Well, come on, let's get moving. There's a press conference at Carmichael Industries. Someone's messaged me."

The doorbell rang. The Doctor walked to the front hallway and opened it to reveal Amy Williams nee Pond.

"Amy!," Zara shouted and ran towards her.

"Hello!," said Amy reaching down to hug Zara. "Oh, you've gotten bigger."

The Doctor looked around. "Where are Rory and the baby?"

"Oh, you know, back home. I just came into town to finish my Christmas shopping."

"We went shopping!," said Zara. "I got glass slippers! Want to see?!"

"You bet I do," said Amy.

Zara scurried off as Donna entered with Chloe and Geoffrey.

"Amy!," said Donna, exchanging hugs. "How is everything? How's the baby?"

"She's fine. Back home."

"Well, come in," said Donna. "We're just about to have breakfast."

"Donna, we've got to get going," said the Doctor.

"To what?," asked Donna.

"There's a press conference at Carmichael Industries, might be an easy way to get in, have a look around."

Donna frowned. "You want to take the children to spy around a toy factory that may or may not turn out to be evil?"

"Bad idea?," asked the Doctor looking from Amy to Donna.

"Epic bad idea," said Amy. She turned to Donna. "Why don't I go with Time Boy to the press conference and we'll catch up later?"

"That's a better idea," said Donna. "Ianto and Jack will be by later. We can all have some wine and chat."

Amy turned to the Doctor. "Well, what are you waiting for? Allons-y."

* * *

After taking the car to Carmichael Industries, the Doctor showed his psychic paper to get them admitted.

"So, why might this place be evil?," asked Amy, glancing around at the decidedly normal office surroundings.

"Mister Carmichael has done something to children. He wants them to stop believing in Father Christmas for some reason."

Amy narrowed her eyes at the Doctor. "Why would anyone want that?"

The Doctor and Amy walked into a shiny, gleaming conference room. The Doctor spotted Alex standing across the room, chatting up one of Carmichael's pretty young assistants.

"What's he doing here?," asked the Doctor.

Amy looked across the room. "Well, who's the dish in the suit?"

The Doctor looked at Amy in shock. "You're married!"

"One, I'm married not dead. Two, I've been trapped in a house with a baby for four months. Give me a break." She looked. "Oh my God, he's walking over."

"You're married," the Doctor repeated.

"Yeah, not dead!," Amy added.

Alex approached them. "Hello, John."

"Hi," the Doctor said furtively.

Alex looked to Amy. "And who might this be?"

"Pond. Amy Pond," she said, shaking hands.

"Williams," added the Doctor.

"Yeah, whatever," said Amy. "How do you know the Doctor?"

"The Doctor?," asked Alex.

"Me," said the Doctor. "The Doctor John Smith."

"Oh," said Alex. "I grew up with Donna. We're good friends."

"Are you now?," asked Amy.

"How do you know them?," asked Alex.

"Amy is my assistant-"

"Assistant?!," asked Amy.

"She travels with us sometimes as I consult..." said the Doctor.

"What brings you to Carmichael Industries?," asked Alex.

"What brings you? Is the Foreign Office interested in a toy company?," asked the Doctor.

Alex smiled at the Doctor. "Carmichael Industries does a lot of charitable giving abroad. As I was in town, I thought I would help out at the office. What brings you here?"

"Consulting," said the Doctor.

Amy looked between the two men. "I'm going to have a glass of champagne."

Amy walked over towards the table of refreshments.

"Common name you have," said Alex.

"John Smith, suppose so," said the Doctor.

"Odd thing about you," said Alex. "I looked you up. John Smith at your address with a doctorate and a brother named Ianto."

"Sorry. You looked me up?"

"You know what I found? All your files were perfectly in order."

"That's good to know," said the Doctor.

"You know what I couldn't find? Paper. No paper. I couldn't get my hands on any one piece of paper. Came close with Zara's birth certificate, but it turns out the paper copies were removed under the direction of John Frobisher, which was strange since he is just a junior minister at the Home Office. Made quite a splash with the 456 incident."

The Doctor shrugged. "My work is very classified, I-"

"Donna's passport doesn't have any activity on it."

"Sorry?"

"She said you've been travelling, so unless you've been travelling entirely within the United Kingdom, her passport should have activity on it. So, you must have a way around it and if you have a way around it... well, then, then I am wondering what you could possibly be involved in."

"What about you?," asked the Doctor.

"I'm sorry?," asked Alex.

"I did my own checking. Your files are interesting as well."

"Somehow I doubt that."

"I don't think you're really a bureaucrat for the Foreign Office."

"And I don't think you're really a consultant on cheese making."

Amy returned. "So, you two done clanking antlers or whatever yet?"

"I'm sorry, Amy. You'll have to excuse me." Alex walked away.

Amy looked at the Doctor. "Is that Donna's ex?"

"She says they were just friends."

"Oh, like how you two were just friends?"

"She says just friends."

Amy smiled. "You're jealous."

"I am not! Time Lords do not get jealous!"

"Well, you shouldn't be. I've met your ex. She was crazy."

"Rose and I were never actually a thing," said the Doctor.

The pretty young assistant stepped up to the podium. "Ladies and gentlemen, the press conference is about to begin."

Mister Carmichael stepped forward, a slick-looking business man.

"Ladies and gentlemen of the assembled press, welcome to a new era for the children of the world," he said.

"He doesn't look like Scrooge," said Amy.

"Apperances can be very deceiving," said the Doctor as he noticed Alex looking back at him.

* * *

Donna sat in the sitting room playing with Geoffrey as Chloe played with a coloring book.

"Zara!," Donna called.

"I'm busy, Mummy!"

"Sweetheart, what are you up to?," asked Donna. "We need to wrap Daddy's presents while he's out!"

"Busy!"

Donna sighed and looked at Geoffrey. "She is busy."

Geoffrey cooed back and passed Donna one of the Gallifreyan letter spheres he'd been playing with. The doorbell rang.

Donna looked at Geoffrey. "That must be Uncle Ianto and Uncle Jack!"

Donna picked him up and went to open the door. She found Jack standing outside.

"Hello!," said Jack, taking Geoffrey from Donna.

"Nice to see you as well," said Donna.

"Wait until you see the bike I got you," said Jack.

"He can't ride a bike, Jack," said Donna. She looked out at Ianto standing on the pavement with his iPad. "Hi, Ianto."

"Did you know there's a sign beneath the window of Zara's room?"

"No," said Donna. She walked out to the front and looked up. It was clearly Zara's handwriting with pink paint and glitter. She had used a similar style when the Doctor had dictated a peace treaty to her a few months back. "'I believe in Father Christmas.' What's that bit at the end?"

"I can't quite make it out," said Jack.

"Dot co, dot uk," said Ianto. He held up the iPad. "It's a website."

"Website?," asked Donna.

"Yes, it would appear Zara's made a website," said Ianto.

"What?!," shouted Donna. She turned back towards the house. "Zara!"

* * *

The press conference was rather boring. Mister Carmichael went on about wanting the children of the world to be free of materialism and superstition. It broke up. The Doctor happened upon Mister Carmichael speaking to Alex.

"Why is it you can afford to give so many toys away?," asked Alex.

"I've been very blessed," said Mister Carmichael.

"But you haven't," said the Doctor. Alex shot him a look. "Your sales figures don't cover your charitable giving. So why?"

"And you are?"

"I'm the Doctor..." He caught Alex looking at him. "...John Smith and this is my assistant, Amy Williams."

"Hi," said Amy. "That bit about superstition, is that why you tell children Father Christmas isn't real?"

Carmichael looked at Amy patronizingly. "To spare them the pain."

"You're robbing them of their childhood," said Amy.

"How old were you when you found out Father Christmas wasn't real?"

Amy paused. "Nine."

"And was that a happy time for you?"

Amy didn't answer.

"It was the Greek gods, then the Romans, all gods die eventually and so shall Father Christmas."

"So they can believe in what?," asked the Doctor.

Carmichael just smiled.

Amy looked around. "What happened to Alex?"

The Doctor noticed he had disappeared.

"Where did Mister Wroughton get off to?," asked Carmichael. "Won't you excuse me?"

Carmichael walked away.

Amy turned to the Doctor. "Fancy a look around?"

"Shouldn't you be getting home?," asked the Doctor.

"What's the rush?"

The Doctor frowned. "Amy, is something going on?"

"No, just..."

They heard something slam not far away. The Doctor hurried along towards the noise as Amy followed.

"Doctor, have you always liked your children?"

"What? What do you mean? Of course I have."

"It's just... I love Melody. I do. I would do anything for her, really, I just can't stand her, Doctor. She's irritating and all she does is cry and scream and then she sleeps for an hour, but you can't bloody speak in the house or she'll wake up and the whole thing starts all over again and basically, it's your fault."

The Doctor looked at Amy. "How is it my fault?"

"All of that time travelling in the TARDIS with the girls and they seem so perfect-"

"Well, they're not."

"Oh, really? Why don't you tell me one thing that they do that gets on your nerves?"

The Doctor drew a blank. "Okay, you may have a point, but it's different for me, Amy. I've had a family and I lost them. The little things don't bother me anymore. I have to cherish the moments I have."

"Yeah and I get that, really, I do, but I can't stand her. Really. I thought it would be all fun and adventures, but I can't take her anywhere. I've left my house twice in four months. I'm losing my ability to speak English."

"It's not that bad," said the Doctor.

"Oh, it's not? Let me tell you, I have lost brain... oh, what are they?"

"Cells?," asked the Doctor.

"Yes!," said Amy. "And I am never getting them back!"

Just then an alarm went off.

"We haven't even done anything yet!," shouted the Doctor.

They heard glass shatter and turned to see that Alex had just fallen or perhaps been pushed through one of the glass walls. Someone in a suit with a Carmichael logo followed him through. Alex steadied himself and got in a fist fight with the man.

"What is with Donna's ex?," asked Amy.

"He's not her ex!," said the Doctor.

Alex knocked the man to the ground as more rushed in. He pulled out an emergency fire hose and took hold. He jumped out of the window, repelling down the building.

Amy looked at the Doctor. "Why haven't we ever done that? No wonder Donna was into him!"

They looked to see the guards approaching them.

"Uh, Amy..." said the Doctor.

"I know," said Amy, rolling her eyes. "Run!"

They ran down the stairs, arriving outside just in time to see Alex pulling away from the building in an Aston Martin.

"He has an Aston!," exclaimed Amy.

"I have a time machine!," the Doctor countered. He took a breath. "I think we have one more stop to make."

"Alex? Let's follow him."

"Not Alex," said the Doctor with a grimace.


	5. Chapter 5

Author's Notes: I do not own Doctor Who. Thanks for the reads and reviews, I love getting them. Merry Christmas! Happy reading!

* * *

Donna rushed into the office with Jack and Ianto closely behind.

"Uncle Ianto! Uncle Jack!"

"Hi, gorgeous-" said Jack.

"Zara, why have you put a sign on the side of the house?," Donna asked, cutting Jack off.

"To advertise my website."

"Seems reasonable enough," said Ianto.

Donna sighed. "And how did you get a website?"

"I built it last night," said Zara.

"You programmed a website?," asked Ianto. "Where did you learn to program a website?"

"Google."

"Okay," said Donna. She took the laptop from Zara. "You cannot have a website!"

"But I already paid for the domain name!," Zara protested.

Jack frowned. "How did you pay for the domain name?"

"The plastic thingy."

Donna sighed. "She can build a website, but a credit card is a plastic thingy."

"That's what Daddy calls it," Zara protested. "I need a website, Mummy. I have to let people know about Father Christmas."

"And she did," said Ianto, looking at the iPad. "Over a million hits. Various theories. Dimensional compression?"

"That's how he gets to so many houses," said Zara.

"Oh, psychic paper for the lists," said Ianto.

"That's what Daddy said," Zara replied.

"Okay, this isn't that big a deal," said Jack. "Take the sign down, take the site down, the Internet's a big place, no one's probably seen it."

"Yes, except the million or so people I just mentioned," said Ianto.

"You can't do that!," said Zara. "Kids need to know Father Christmas is real!"

"No one's saying he's not," said Jack. "We're just worried bad people might see it and try to hurt you."

"Hello?," a voice called.

"Auntie Martha!," shouted Zara.

Martha entered the room carrying Chloe. "Did you all just leave the door unlocked?"

Donna sighed. "We came in in a hurry. You weren't supposed to come until this evening."

"That was the plan. Tish called me. The BBC has picked up the story on Zara's website."

"What?!," Donna shouted.

"And Sky News. CNN, MSNBC, Fox, everyone-"

"In America?," asked Ianto.

"Tish said it's a slow news day. Point is, a reporter's coming over with a crew to ask for an interview. Tish is trying to stall, but it won't last long."

Zara jumped up. "I can be on the news! People can see it!"

"You cannot be on the news, Zara!," said Donna.

"But I need to help Father Christmas!"

"What's she mean?," asked Martha.

"No one believes in Father Christmas and he's real!," said Zara.

"Okay..." said Martha. She turned to the other adults. "What do we do?"

* * *

The Doctor and Amy walked into the Home Office, nearly abandoned as it was a couple of days before Christmas.

"The Doctor for John Frobisher. He's expecting me."

The woman looked up and rolled her eyes. "You'll want the basement."

The Doctor frowned. "The basement?"

"Yes, the basement."

The Doctor and Amy descended the stairs to find one meager office with Frobisher's name written in marker on tape placed over another name. The Doctor opened the door and walked in.

"This is your office?," asked the Doctor. "Permanent Secretary to the Home Office, I pictured something a little grander. Still, cozy has its benefits, though."

Frobisher shrugged. "They couldn't sack me. When the Opposition came into power, they shoved me down here. I'm a figurehead." He paused. "Thank you for coming. I wasn't certain you would, given what happened."

Frobisher looked at Amy. "I don't know you. I'm sorry-"

"Amy Williams."

"Oh, with him you remember your last name." He turned back to Frobisher. "When you rang me, was it about Mister Carmichael?"

"How did you know?," Frobisher asked in astonishment.

"I learned some things while I was meeting Father Christmas and having princess makeovers. For one thing, there's still glitter in my hair and I've washed it twice."

Amy looked. "Why did you put glitter in your hair?"

"Zara was having fun with it."

Frobisher interrupted. "Carmichael is the man who won the contract to take down and replace the Archangel Network.

"What's that?," asked Amy.

The Doctor looked at her. "Right, do you remember a few years back when Harold Saxon was Prime Minister?"

"You mean for about a minute? He and the American president died. Yeah, I remember that."

"That wasn't really the whole story," said the Doctor. "Harold Saxon was controlling all the people on Earth with a psychic network. That's what Archangel was."

"Mind control?," asked Amy. "What has that got to do with him not wanting children to believe in Father Christmas?"

The Doctor frowned. "It means children aren't just deciding because they don't want to. They're getting nudged."

"Combine that with the toy giveaways," suggested Frobisher. "All over the world. I'm still trying to collect the data."

"That is not good," said the Doctor. "That is really not good."

"Why isn't Zara affected?," asked Amy.

"Time Baby," said the Doctor. "Her mind isn't like an ordinary human child's. Not to mention, she's Donna's."

"What are you talking about?," asked Amy.

"Donna, great big mind on her, can create whole universes if she puts her mind to it, which she does." He frowned. "That didn't come out great."

"What do we do?," asked Frobisher.

"I think I have a way to sway opinion," said the Doctor.

* * *

Donna sent Zara to her room. She sent Martha and Jack to take Chloe and Geoffrey to do something together. Ianto headed to a old Torchwood substation to borrow a computer to access high grade software to take down the website. She just needed a minute to think while she waited on the Doctor. She had sent him a very angry voice mail, but he hadn't answered yet.

It was Stefano all over again. Zara just didn't understand what she was, how precious she was. Sure, she let her go to nursery school, but that was anonymously and the place had been fully vetted. Not this, not all this putting herself out there.

There was a knock at the door. Donna sighed, fully prepared to give BBC News several good reasons she would not grant an interview with her three year old. She opened it, surprised to find Alex.

"We need to talk," he said simply.

He ushered her into the kitchen and turned.

"Who is your husband, Donna?"

"Sorry?," asked Donna.

"I just ran into him. He's not John Smith. Who is he?"

"I don't know what you mean-"

"Donna, I can protect you. I just need to know the truth."

Donna narrowed her eyes. "I don't need protecting. What are you on about?"

"What am I on about? Code name, the Doctor. His little friend, Mrs. Williams, let it slip." Alex pulled a folder out of his jacket. "Here."

Donna took it. "Alex, why does this say 'MI6 Top Secret' on it?"

"Never mind that. Look inside. The name 'The Doctor' passed from man to man, in connection with at least a dozen incidents. Destruction of 10 Downing Street-"

"When did that happen?"

Alex rolled his eyes. "When the spaceship hit Big Ben!"

"Really?," asked Donna.

"Yes, really. He was involved in the downfall of Harriet Jones. He had something to do with the deaths of Mister Saxon and President Winters-"

"Oh," said Donna.

"Wait, what do you know?"

Donna shrugged. "It's not what you think."

"How about this? My mother tells me that 'John' or whoever the hell he is was at your wedding to Lance. That night Lance disappears never to be seen again. Two years later, you're married. Do you know what that looks like, Donna? It looks like you were involved in a murder of a man who was pretty worthless-"

"You didn't like Lance?"

"Of course I didn't."

"You never said."

"What was I supposed to say? Does it matter? It's still murder!"

"Donna!," the Doctor called.

"Donna," said Alex, grabbing her wrist.

Donna gently pulled it away. "You're getting it all wrong."

The Doctor entered. He spotted Alex. "Oh, good, it's you."

"John," said Alex.

"Yes?," asked Donna.

"Well, we're home and we have to let Zara keep the website. Also, the BBC ought to be on their way."

"The BBC?," asked Donna. "I just told Zara no!"

"Well...un-tell her. The whole concept of free will for the future of the human race may be at stake."

The Doctor left. Alex turned to Donna.

"What is he talking about?"

"I have no idea," said Donna.

The Doctor came back in and looked at the folder on the counter. "Sorry, is that about me?" He flipped through it. "Wrong, wrong and so wrong. Bunch of amateurs, MI6."

The Doctor walked out.

"You work for MI6?," Donna asked Alex. "I thought you worked for the Foreign Office!"

"I couldn't tell you, Donna."

Donna shook her head. "This is getting too weird. I think you should go."

Donna looked up at Alex. He looked more devastated than she would have thought.

Had she missed something?

Alex left. Donna began to follow him out of the sitting room, but the front door slammed shut. She turned to see Amy sitting on the sofa.

"Nice bum on him," said Amy. "Did you know he had an Aston?"

* * *

Zara squealed with delight as she jumped up and down on her bed.

"Thank you, Daddy!," she said, throwing her arms around the Doctor.

"You are welcome, my Zara," said the Doctor.

Donna entered.

"Oh, your friend gone?," asked the Doctor.

"We can't do this," said Donna.

"Mummy, we have to help Father Christmas!," said Zara.

"And we have to save humanity," said the Doctor.

"Please, Mummy?"

"Please?," added the Doctor.

"Spaceman, I don't want her hurt."

"I would never let anything happen to her, Donna. You know that."

"Alright, but at least coach her or something about not saying the words Time Lord or something. You're on your best behavior, Miss. Like at school."

"Yes, Mummy," said Zara.

Donna sighed and took Zara from the Doctor's arms to hold her. "I don't mean to sound cross. I don't. I just love you so much it hurts. I don't know what I'd ever do without you."

"I love you too, Mummy," said Zara.

* * *

It wasn't long before a whole crew arrived from the BBC and started setting up in the sitting room. Zara was seated on the Doctor's lap with Donna next to them and across was a reporter from the BBC intent on doing a puff piece.

"So, Zara," she began, "what made you believe in Father Christmas?"

"He's real."

"Yes, but how do you know he's real?"

"He always brings me presents, no matter what."

"Mister Carmichael's been telling children that their parents buy the presents."

"Well, he's wrong," said Zara.

"You've claimed on your website you have a way to prove that."

"Claimed?," asked Donna. "What is this? A cross examination?"

"I have one," said Zara. "I wrote down what I asked Father Christmas for and gave it to a girl I met at Harrod's. The only other person I told is Father Christmas. On Christmas day, I'm going to say what I got and she's going to tell everyone."

"You didn't tell Mummy and Daddy?"

"No, she sure didn't," said the Doctor, smile glued to his face.

"Very clever, Zara," said the reporter.

"Isn't it just?," commented Donna.

They finished a few more questions and saw off the reporter and camera crew. Zara took Amy to see her new Cinderella outfit and the Doctor and Donna were finally alone.

"Doctor," said Donna.

"Yes?"

"Does the fate of mankind rest on us sorting out what Zara asked Father Christmas for and getting it under the tree before Christmas morning?"

"Uh, possibly, well, actually, yes, completely."

"Oh, good," said Donna. "I thought it was going to be something troubling."


	6. Chapter 6

Author's Notes: I do not own Doctor Who. Thanks for the reads. Hope Christmas was great. Let me know what you think and happy reading!

* * *

Donna came downstairs to find Amy on the sofa, nursing a cup of coffee.

"Amy, you're still here," said Donna, sitting across from her.

"Yeah," said Amy. "I figured I ought to help you and the Doctor sort out whatever is going on with Carmichael."

"Doesn't Rory mind? It's Christmas Eve."

Amy sighed. "Donna, I wasn't out shopping."

"I didn't think you were."

"Melody was driving me mad as usual, only Rory was actually home this time, so I took the keys and I drove and before I knew it, I was here so I stopped." She put the cup of tea down on the table. "I just don't know what to do anymore. If I have to go back to that house with her screaming right now, I will explode."

"You've had her checked?," asked Donna.

"Oh, my God, yes, by everyone. She just screams. I try going to her, I try not going, it doesn't matter. I think she gets some sort of thrill out of annoying me."

"Amy..." said Donna.

"You think I'm a horrible mother, don't you?"

"Amy-"

"Don't be afraid to admit it. So do I."

Donna shook her head. "No, I know you're not a horrible mum. I've had mates whose kids have driven them up the wall, they couldn't handle it. My friend, Veena, it got so bad she went on medication. Sometimes you just need a break from the little blighters."

"Not you," said Amy.

Donna shrugged. "I'm lucky. Besides, I've had my moments, but if you need a break, you should take a break. Better to admit you need help than crack completely." She sniffed. "Did you cook?"

"No, that's your husband. He's been up since before dawn making a racket!," she finished by shouting at the kitchen.

"Sorry!," came the reply.

"What are you doing?," asked Donna.

"A surprise for Zara!"

"Speaking of whom," Amy took the channel changer and turned on the telly. "She's all over. Word is getting out. Kids are starting to believe again."

Donna looked. The clips of Zara were being played again and again. She was proud of her, even if she was worried. She heard Geoffrey cry.

"Better get that," Donna said, heading upstairs.

"Right," smiled Amy.

"Amy?"

"Yeah?"

"You're not a bad mother."

Amy smiled ruefully. "Okay."

* * *

Once she had finished checking on Geoffrey and giving him his first feeding of the day, Donna went to Zara's room. She peered through the cracked door into Zara's room. She was still asleep, clutching Pooh Bear and Mister Scallofrax. The Doctor joined her with a tray of food: banana pancakes with whipped cream and powdered sugar, fruit arranged in a smiley face formation, chocolate milk and a tiny glass bowl of Jelly Babies.

Donna looked up at him. "Are you trying to make her diabetic or keep her up for three days straight?"

"I am trying to lower her defenses. I've used the strategy before. Henry Tudor, King Herod, the Queen of Volante Seven-"

Donna furrowed her brow. "Wait. When you were making me breakfast when I first came on the TARDIS-"

The Doctor shook his head. "No, no, no, that was totally different."

"'I just want a mate'!," Donna said accusingly.

"As I said, totally different. I had no untoward intentions regarding you, until, you know, I did. Anyway, this isn't about me, is it? It's about Zara." The Doctor opened the door and walked in with the tray. "Good morning, Zara!"

Zara opened her eyes. "Good morning, Daddy."

"Here, sit up," said the Doctor as he placed the tray on her bed. "And how did you sleep?"

"Fine," said Zara, brow wrinkled in confusion as she stared at the mass of sugary food in front of her. She looked up at Donna for clues as to why this was happening.

"Sweet dreams, I hope," said the Doctor. "Anything about what Father Christmas might bring you?"

Zara narrowed her gaze at her father. She was starting to take after her mother in that. It gave the Doctor pause.

"Maybe," she finally answered.

"Oh?," asked the Doctor. "Anything in particular?"

"I'm not telling you," said Zara.

The Doctor played dumb, desperate for a miracle. "Tell me what, Zara?"

"I thought you were on my side. I thought you believed in Father Christmas."

"We do, sweetheart," said Donna. "It's just that Father Christmas gets busy and we don't want him to miss your present if it's what you really want."

"I told him," said Zara. "He knows it's important."

"It's just that there are two point two billion children in the world, Zara," said the Doctor. "He might have written it on a bit of paper and lost it. I did something similar with one of the Book of Shlomo."

"The Book of Shlomo?," asked Donna.

"Yeah, it's part of the New Testament. Well, at least it was going to be until this sort of sabre toothed tiger ate it. It's a long story."

"Why won't you two believe in Father Christmas?," asked Zara.

"We believe," the Doctor said quickly. "Of course we do. Just the other day I was telling Freddie Mercury how much I believe in Father Christmas."

"Wait, when did you meet Freddie Mercury?," asked Donna.

"Uh, the other night. You were asleep."

"This wasn't about the song, was it?"

"No, of course not," said the Doctor.

"You didn't try to get him to write a song, did you?"

"No, I just dropped in and wanted to say hello."

"What song was it?"

"Donna, I tell you, there was no song. It didn't even come up." He looked back at Zara. "Now, what were we saying?"

"I'm not telling you!," said Zara. She pushed the tray towards the Doctor and stomped off.

"Zara!," the Doctor whined. "At least eat the pancakes..."

Donna looked at the Doctor. "That didn't work."

"I know, she's stubborn," said the Doctor.

"Can't think where she gets that," said Donna.

"Oh, can't you?," asked the Doctor.

"What song was it?," asked Donna.

"Pancake?"

* * *

Once the children were distracted, the adults met covertly in the kitchen.

"Okay, everyone," said Jack, "welcome to Team Ginger Time Babies: Christmas Edition."

The Doctor scowled. "Jack."

Jack looked at Ianto. "Have you gotten those t-shirts yet?"

"Yeah," agreed Martha, "we've been talking about that for over four years now."

Ianto scowled. "Why don't we save Christmas first?"

"Okay," said Amy, "from what I gather, we need all the children of the world to believe in Father Christmas to regain free will and it all depends on Zara getting what she asked Father Christmas for and she won't tell you because she- rightly - thinks it doesn't prove anything if you knew."

The Doctor nodded. "Yeah, that's pretty much it."

"What could she possibly want?," asked Donna. "I mean, she gets whatever she asks for as it is. You're a pushover."

"I am not a pushover," said the Doctor.

Martha smiled. "Oh, just admit it. Zara's got you wrapped around her little finger."

"She-" The Doctor looked around the room at the group of mocking faces. "Fine. She does, but you know, it'd be different if she wasn't so..."

"You've still got some glitter in your hair, Doctor," said Amy.

"Shut up," the Doctor muttered.

"Okay," said Amy. "Someone's got to talk to Father Christmas. Not to worry, everyone. I've got this."

"What are you going to do?," asked Donna.

"Oh, you know, just have a chat. I'll be back soon."

Amy started walking out.

"Martha, go with her," said Donna.

"On it," said Martha, following Amy out.

"What do we do?," asked Jack.

"You two can do the shopping," said Donna. "Christmas Eve. Have fun."

"Oh, come on!," said Jack.

"We can't go," said the Doctor. "Zara is too suspicious as is."

* * *

Donna entered the office, smiling.

"Hi, sweetheart."

Zara was typing away on the laptop, eyes concentrated in a way that made Donna think immediately of the Doctor. Her tongue was even starting to touch her lip as she was deep in thought.

"I'm not telling you what I asked for."

Donna threw her arms up. "I wasn't going to ask that! I just wanted to see you!"

"I'm busy."

Donna sighed, took the laptop from Zara as she gawked in shock.

"You. It is Christmas Eve. You may be a ginger Time Baby, we may have to save the world later, but you are going to have a very happy Christmas." She took a breath. "You believe in Father Christmas, right?"

"Yes."

"Then you believe what you believe and you have done very well at telling everyone what you believe- can't think where you get that from- and now you need to have a very nice Christmas because you don't deserve anything less." She kissed her on the top of the head. "Now, come on, we still haven't done the tree."

* * *

At Harrod's, Martha could do nothing but watch as Amy flirted with an elf to get them to the front of a queue of waiting parents and children to much irritation. Martha tried to apologize, but there was no hope of stopping the parents' glares.

"Hello, Father Christmas," said Amy.

Father Christmas looked up to see Amy and Martha. He was definitely noticing the length of Amy's skirt.

"Hi," said Martha, "you saw a little girl the other day. She's called Zara. You would remember her because-"

Amy sat down on Father Christmas' lap. Martha put her hand over her mouth.

"Well, for one, she's ginger, like me," said Amy. "For another, she's the only one who still believes in you."

Martha brought her hand back down. "We just need to know what she asked for."

"What she asked for?

"Yeah, come on, what was it?"

"It didn't even make sense."

"Just tell me," said Amy.

"She said she wanted what I got her in Leeds."

Amy looked at Martha in confusion. "Leeds?'

Martha shrugged. "Is that all?"

A mother towards the front of the queue shouted. "Ginger, you want to leave? There are people with children waiting! Don't know how they let you in with that skirt. It's beginning to look like M&S in here..."

"Watch it, lady!," said Amy. "You're just jealous because you can't pull this off!"

"Come back after you've had children."

"I do have a child, thank you!"

"Okay, that's enough," said Martha, grabbing Amy by the shoulders and leading her away.

"I'm not done," said Amy.

"Yes, you are," said Martha. "We've got to call the Doctor."

* * *

At the house, Donna was with Zara and Chloe trimming the tree. Geoffrey watched from his carrier with Esther next to him. The girls were sure to show him all the interesting baubles as Donna explained he wasn't old enough to hold one yet. The Doctor, Jack and Ianto were off discussing the Archangel Network and Carmichael. She had half a mind to pull him back in the sitting room and was about to act on it when he came back in.

"Donna, can I borrow you?," asked the Doctor.

Donna looked down at Zara and Chloe. "Help your sister. Just do the lower bits of the tree and don't put up the glass baubles on your own." She gave them each a kiss on the top of the head and picked Geoffrey up on her path into the kitchen where the Doctor, Jack and Ianto waited.

"What?"

"Do you remember what you got Zara for Christmas in the Time Beetle universe?," asked the Doctor.

"Not much," said Donna. "Why?"

"It's what she asked Father Christmas for," said the Doctor.

"What?," asked Donna.

"Whatever Father Christmas got her in Leeds, that's what she wants."

Donna's jaw dropped. "It was nothing. I cried that Christmas when she wasn't looking. All I managed to get her were some clothes from a thrift shop and this doll from a pound shop. It was nothing."

"She had nothing," Ianto said, causing everyone to look up at him. "When you have nothing and you're that little, something seems like everything."

"Do you think we can still find it?," asked Jack.

"It's only parallel, it's possible," said the Doctor.

"What did it look like?," asked Ianto.

"Just a baby doll with blue eyes, sort of tacky purple dress, I just didn't have any choice, I had to get her something-"

"It's okay," Jack said, wanting to stop Donna from the rambling self accusations. "We'll find it."

"Which pound shop?," asked Ianto.

"There's more than one?," asked Jack.

"Spoken by a man wearing clothes from the nineteen forties," said Ianto. He looked at Donna. "We'll find it if we can."

The men left.

"Are you alright, Donna?," asked the Doctor.

She shook her head. "I'm fine."

"I know that time is hard for you to... well, anyway, I know."

"I had to get these odd jobs, just to buy her anything. My mum thought it was a waste. We didn't even have a real tree. No big meal. We had nothing."

"She had you," said the Doctor. "That's all she ever needs."

"It was her birthday," said Donna. She smiled as she noticed Geoffrey reaching up to touch her cheek.

"Sorry?," asked the Doctor.

"Oh, Christmas was her birthday there," said Donna.

"Oh, that might account for it," said the Doctor.

"Account for what?"

"Why she loves Christmas so much. It brought her to you."

Donna shrugged. "Or maybe she's just a little girl."

"Mummy! I can't reach any higher!," Zara called from the sitting room.

"Coming!," said Donna.

* * *

Alex Wroughton was a man used to regrets.

His work was often full of them. He was good at his job, mind you, just there were some times that he wondered what life might be like if he wasn't.

The holidays were a time for regrets, probably why he spent so few of them at home. He used to come home, he looked forward to hearing from Donna. Then he had skipped the year of her wedding, almost every one after that. Especially when his mother had told him that Donna was married all of a sudden, some sort of quick thing while she was abroad. She was sketchy on the details, but she had mentioned there was a baby on the way. Sylvia and Wilfred wouldn't stop about it.

Then this year work had brought him to his hometown and he thought enough time had passed that he was over it, that he had moved on. He hadn't. Her skinny twig of a husband with his dodgy background, what had he gotten Donna into? That conversation in her kitchen was something. Another regret to come.

Now he was back to Carmichael Industries. Back in the MI6 lab, they had tried to disassemble several of the toys, all were electronic, but the circuits blew every time they got near it. He had to get into Carmichael's office and find the original blueprints.

He had just finished with the computer. The hacking software had taken a very long time. Bizarrely long. The level of encryption Carmichael was using was for something serious.

He heard footsteps approaching. With no time to get out, he ducked into a cupboard.

"I'm sorry, Lord Protector, let me just get that-" It was Carmichael's principal secretary. The one with the adenoids. Lord Protector? Carmichael ran a tight ship, didn't he?

"Get me the numbers!," Carmichael barked.

"Right here, uh, we're holding at eighty-five percent of children."

"Eighty five percent?," asked Carmichael. "We had ninety-five percent yesterday! Do you mean to tell me one little girl on BBC News got ten percent overnight?!"

"Eighty five is still a lot-"

"We need them all!" He paused. "It's that girl. She does something. She turns one way, they all follow."

"The poll is just British children-"

"I want her dealt with."

"Sir?"

"Have the pod made ready. We ride at dusk."

Alex peeked through the crack in the door. It was still Mister Carmichael's voice, but he was a... lizard man? A blue lizard man? He couldn't believe what he was seeing. So was the assistant.

Aliens. They were aliens. He, of course, knew they existed but that was the purview of others like UNIT and Torchwood. He dealt with more terrestrial threats, but now they had suddenly combined.

"Zara Smith-Noble will be dealt with," he said with disdain.

Alex's heart skipped a beat. He had to warn Donna.


	7. Chapter 7

Author's Notes: I do not own Doctor Who. Thanks for the reads and the reviews. Happy reading!

* * *

"Stefano!," called Zara.

Stefano looked from around the corner sheepishly as Zara held out a plate.

"I brought you some of our dinner. And Amy made biscuits."

"Thank you," Stefano said softly.

He looked up. Donna was looking out the window of the kitchen.

"Your mum's waiting," said Stefano, handing the plate back.

Zara looked back. "I'm sorry. My mummy..."

"Don't apologize. You can't help who your mum is. She only wants what's best for you."

"What about your mummy?," asked Zara.

"Thanks for the food, Zara," said Stefano as he walked away.

Zara went back in the house. She handed the plate to Donna.

"How did Stefano like dinner?," asked Donna.

"Why don't you like him?"

Donna sighed. "It's not that I don't like him. I just don't know him."

"You could like him," said Zara.

"I could," Donna admitted. She knelt down. "You know how sometimes we go somewhere with Daddy and you get scared before there's anything to be scared of?"

"Uh-huh."

"That's your instinct. That's this little voice inside you trying to tell you that something is wrong. Just promise me you'll always trust your instincts."

"My instinct says Stefano is good," said Zara.

Donna nodded. "Okay, love."

"Donna! Zara!," called the Doctor.

"Zara's on telly again!," Chloe called.

Donna checked her watch again as she and Zara entered. Jack and Ianto had been gone hours.

"Okay," said the Doctor, taking the changer. "Enough of Zara on telly."

He switched it off and caught Zara's gaze.

"Do you think it will work, Daddy? Do you think kids will believe in Father Christmas again?"

"I think it has a very good chance," said the Doctor. He exchanged glances with Donna as she took Geoffrey in her arms. "You have been brilliant."

"Why does Mister Carmichael hate Father Christmas?," asked Zara.

"I don't know, Zara. Come on. Story time," he said, bringing them to sit next to him on the floor.

"I've got the cocoa," said Amy, coming with a tray from the kitchen.

"Amy, have you heard our Christmas story?," asked the Doctor.

"No," said Amy, giving Zara and Chloe each a mug of cocoa. "What is it? Night Before Christmas?"

"No, it's a special story that only Ginger Time Babies get to hear," said the Doctor.

"I feel privileged then," said Amy, taking her seat on the sofa next to Donna. The Doctor was on the floor with the girls.

"Once upon a time on Christmas Eve, there was a bride, a beautiful, ginger bride with-"

"Stick to the story, Time Boy," said Donna.

"Right, anyway she found herself on-"

"The TARDIS!," Zara added.

"That's right," said the Doctor, "and there was a man there, minding his own business-"

"Daddy!," said Chloe.

"Wait," said Amy, "this is a story about you?" She looked to Donna. "Were you the bride?"

"Yes," Zara answered.

"You two met on Christmas Eve?," asked Amy. "Who were you getting married to?"

The Doctor sighed. "This is all in the story."

"Was it Alex?," asked Amy.

"No," said Donna.

"Why would you ask if it was Alex?," asked the Doctor.

"Well, because he seems to like her."

The Doctor groaned. "Does anyone care about the story?"

"You know we've never made it to the end of it since Zara began to talk," said Donna. "She knows it better than I do and I was there."

"Well, that's because she's been hearing it since she was born," said the Doctor.

"Presents!," shouted Chloe.

"Not until tomorrow," Zara said sternly.

Chloe looked up at the Doctor pleadingly.

"Okay, maybe one," said the Doctor.

"Doctor," said Donna.

"No! I know just the ones!," said the Doctor. He retrieved two small packages from under the tree. They both unwrapped them with glee.

"You're a pushover," said Donna, shaking her head.

"Huge pushover," said Amy. "I can't believe there are people who are actually scared of you."

Chloe opened hers. It appeared to be a purple egg.

"That had better not grow into something," said Donna.

"No, it sings," said the Doctor. "Go ahead, hold it. It's from Batiatelli Seven. Thought you should have it."

The Doctor helped Chloe hold the egg with both hands. It began to hum. Chloe laughed.

"Zara, what have you got?," asked Donna.

Zara opened her box to reveal a child sized Cinderella watch.

"A watch!," said Zara. She held it up for Amy and Donna to see.

"Not just any watch," said the Doctor, taking it out and putting it on her wrist. "One especially for you, Zara."

"Thank you, Daddy," said Zara.

"I want a watch," said Chloe, looking longingly at her elder sister's present.

"Next year, Chloe, you'll be old enough then," said the Doctor. He checked his own watch. "You two ought to be getting to bed."

"Can't we stay up and see Father Christmas?," asked Zara.

"No, you know Father Christmas won't come if you're still awake," said Donna.

"That's mean," said Zara.

"Well, you know, he plays a tough game," said the Doctor.

"Come on, upstairs," said Donna.

The girls groaned as she ushered them off.

"Wait," said Amy to the Doctor, "I want to know what else happens to the ginger bride and the man in the TARDIS."

"Well," said the Doctor, "they find out her fiancé was planning on feeding her to a giant spider queen, they travel to the beginning of the Earth, he asks her to travel with him and she says no."

Amy narrowed her eyes. "She said no?"

"She said no."

"She rejected you!"

"At first," said the Doctor.

Amy laughed. "She rejected you! Did you give her that whole speech of all about time and space?! And she still turned you down!"

"It was temporary!," said the Doctor, bristling.

"Turned you down," Amy repeated.

"Are you done having fun yet?"

"No, never," said Amy, unable to hide the smile on her face as the Doctor followed his family upstairs.

* * *

Amy sat alone in the sitting room. She still felt like a rotten mum. She really wanted to go home for Christmas, but felt as if the house was driving her insane, not to mention Melody. Still, it was Christmas. Her thoughts were interrupted by someone banging on the front door.

"God, carol singers are getting pushy," said Amy. She walked over and opened the door. It was Alex. "Hello, spy boy."

He pushed his way in. "Donna!"

"She's upstairs, they were putting the kids to bed," said Amy.

Donna came down the stairs, quickly followed by the Doctor.

"Oh, good, it's him," said the Doctor.

Donna looked at him in confusion. "Alex, what are you doing here?"

"Look, I can't explain everything, but Zara's in danger?"

The Doctor narrowed his gaze. "What do you mean Zara's in danger?"

"Alex, what are you talking about?," asked Donna.

"I can't explain everything, Donna."

"Try!," she snapped.

"I was at Carmichael Industries, I overheard something, I think Carmichael's going to do something to her."

Donna looked to the Doctor in concern.

"What exactly did Carmichael say?," asked the Doctor.

"It's no so much what he said-" Alex started.

"Then what was it?," the Doctor asked urgently.

"It was him. Carmichael. I think he's an alien."

"What do you mean you think?," asked Donna.

"Well, turns out he's a sort of blue lizard man."

"What?!," spat Donna.

There was another knock on the door. Amy hurried over and got it, finding Stefano.

"Uh, hi," said Amy.

"A sleigh just left Zara's window."

"A sleigh?," asked Amy.

She heard sleigh bells in the distance and looked out to see something shrinking by the horizon.

"Oh, no," said the Doctor. He flew upstairs with the others closely behind. He opened the door to Zara's room and saw the window was open, the chilly night air blowing in. The bed was unmade and Mister Scallofrax and Pooh Bear sat there alone.

"I'll ring my office," said Alex.

"No, don't," said the Doctor.

"Your daughter's just been kidnapped, you idiot!"

Donna took a breath, trying to regain her composure as her mind raced. "Alex, don't."

"What the hell is going on with you?!," said Alex.

"He's an alien."

"What?"

"Hello," said the Doctor, waving slightly.

"That's why I couldn't tell you anything," said Donna. "I'm sorry."

"You married an alien?," asked Alex.

"If it makes you feel any better, she rejected him first," said Amy.

"Does that make the kids half alien?," asked Stefano.

The Doctor waved his sonic screwdriver around the room. "There was a high intensity perception field here and the residue from some kind of light spacecraft, most likely disguised as a sleigh. Probably the same one Carmichael's been using to pass himself off as human."

"So, he disguised himself as Father Christmas and Zara just went with him?!," shouted Donna. "Who just runs off with Father Christmas?!"

"Um, a kid?," Amy suggested. "Especially one that usually lives in a blue box."

"She was telling the truth?," asked Stefano.

"What do we do? How do we find her?," asked Donna looking at the Doctor. "Don't just stand there! Do something!"

The Doctor held up his watch.

"What about your watch?," asked Alex.

"This watch isn't just a watch, it's tethered to the watch I've given Zara. We can track her anywhere in time and space."

Alex frowned. "Anywhere in time and space? Why would we need to-"

"Try to keep up, Alex!," said the Doctor.

They rushed back downstairs as Jack and Ianto came in.

"Whose Aston Martin is out front?," asked Ianto.

"Okay! I think we found it!," said Jack. "Sure an old lady beat me with a metal bar-"

"No time, Jack. We've got to go. Zara's been kidnapped," said the Doctor.

"Do you want to give us some details?," asked Ianto.

"Uh, Carmichael's an alien," said Amy.

"Watch Chloe and Geoffrey!," Donna ordered.

The Doctor walked into the TARDIS, Donna soon followed, then Stefano, then Amy.

A;ex stopped. "Why are you getting in a police box? Why do you have a police box in your sitting room? Wait, why haven't I noticed you have a police box in your sitting room?"

"Come on!," Donna shouted from the inside.

Alex stepped in only to stop again. Stefano was next to him.

"Yeah, I know," said Stefano.

"It's... bigger on the inside," said Alex. "Why is it bigger on the inside?"

"Oh, don't ask him that, he'll go on for days," said Amy. "Oh, and you might want to grab something."

"What?"

Donna looked at the Doctor. "So, where are we going?"

"The North Pole."

"Our child is missing. Not really the time for jokes."

"Who's joking?," asked the Doctor as he started the controls.

Stefano managed to grab hold of a coral strut. Alex fell forward, his face planted onto the metal floor.

"Oh, sorry," said the Doctor.

"No, you're not," Alex said with a grimace as he pulled himself up.

* * *

As Zara stepped out of the sleigh, she began to notice that there were several things wrong with this scenario.

There were no elves. Where was Santa's Workshop? Why wasn't Mrs. Claus waiting?

And why couldn't she talk to the reindeer?

Father Christmas took her hand and led her into a nearby building. It wasn't what she was expecting, it was all gleaming and white. It reminded her of some of the other planets she had been to.

Zara looked around the cold, white room as she toyed with the new watch on her wrist. She looked up at Father Christmas. "Where's your workshop?"

"You'll see that later. Why don't you lie down there?"

Zara looked over. There was a bed with a lot of cables coming from it. She got that feeling her mummy spoke about, the bad kind.

"I want to go home," said Zara.

"But what about the workshop?"

"I want to go home," Zara repeated, growing more nervous. "Please take me home. You don't have to get me anything else."

Father Christmas snapped and Zara saw what he was now: a tall blue lizard with scales. Other similar creatures approached.

"What are you doing?," asked Zara.

"Revealing the truth," said the lizard man in a voice Zara recognized as that mean Carmichael.

The others grabbed her and placed her on the bed as she tried to fight them, but they were just too strong.

"You're going to be in so much trouble when my mummy finds out!," Zara shouted. "And the real Father Christmas!"

The others strapped her in.

"Silly human child," said Carmichael.

The equipment began beeping as Zara's eyes closed.

"What is that? What's wrong?," asked Carmichael.

"I don't know, Lord Protector. Apologies," said the assistant.

The monitors started blinking wildly. Warning indicators began.

"Uh, Lord Protector, the child's not human," said the assistant.

"What?"

The equipment began whirring uncontrollably and the ground began to shake.

"What is she?," asked Carmichael. "What is she?"

"Mine."

Carmichael turned around to find the Doctor, Donna, Amy, Alex and Stefano standing in front of the TARDIS.

"We haven't been properly introduced, I'm the Doctor."

"Oh, bollocks," said the assistant.

* * *

_A/N: Cliffhangers, I know. Update tomorrow. _


	8. Chapter 8

Author's Notes: I do not own Doctor Who. Thanks for the reads and reviews! Happy reading!

* * *

"Zara!," said Donna. "Zara, wake up."

The Doctor gently pulled her away. "Hold on, Donna. Let's just take a minute."

She shot him a look that might have caused plants to die. "Take a minute?! Just unplug her!"

The Doctor looked around at the machinery and computers. "This is a Lovarian Consciousness Separator."

"What's that mean?," asked Donna.

The assistant spoke. "We just needed to remove her from the Archangel Network, take her consciousness offline, if we had known she was from a higher level species, a telepathic one-"

"Higher level?," asked Amy.

"Unplug her!," shouted Donna.

"We can't, ma'am," said the assistant. "She surpasses the equipment. She has to come back to the equipment."

"If we unplug her now before her conscious mind's been returned, it won't ever come back," said the Doctor. "She would just be flesh. Her consciousness could be going anywhere through time and space."

Donna gasped at the horror of the idea. Amy walked over and hugged her.

Carmichael looked around, ready to make his escape. Suddenly, Alex drew a gun. A rather large one.

"Don't go anywhere, lizard boy," said Alex.

"He's got a gun!," spat the Doctor. He looked at Amy and Donna. "He's got a gun!"

Amy rolled her eyes. "Yeah, spies carry guns. I'm shocked."

"You're a spy?," asked Stefano.

"I work for the Foreign Office," said Alex.

"That's a yes, then," said Stefano.

The Doctor looked back to Alex. "I don't do guns!"

"I do," said Alex. He looked at Carmichael. "Or are those scales bulletproof?"

Carmichael didn't speak.

"Didn't think so," he said. "Now, this plan, to stop the world's children from believing in Father Christmas, why? What's the point of it?"

"I ask the questions," said the Doctor.

"You want to do this now?!," screeched Donna.

"Just answer me," said Alex.

"The children are more useful when they have no faith," said Carmichael.

"Oh, Lovarians, you are clever," said the Doctor. "You're playing the long game. This isn't about tonight, this is about years in the future when the kids are all grown up without any kind of faith or belief under the tutelage of your toys, you invade. You give them something to believe in finally. You become the new gods. You've turned the human race into a flock of sheep! Stupid sheep!"

"And the Earth will be ours," said Carmichael.

"Not anymore," said the Doctor. "The Shadow Proclamation is going to love hearing about this."

"The what?," asked Alex.

"Oh, yeah, it's like an intergalactic UN only it's on an asteroid belt. MI6 doesn't know?"

"What about Zara?! How are you going to get her back?!," Donna shouted.

"You're going to get her back," the Doctor said simply.

Donna shook her head. "I don't understand. Please, Doctor, don't play games with me."

"Donna, hold her hand," said the Doctor.

"What? Why?"

"You're her mother. She's known you as long as she's existed. If we can reactivate your telepathic link, just hold her hand and think about something."

"What?"

"Anything, really, oh! Christmas! Christmas brought you two together the first time, you just think about Christmas because that's where she's going to look for you, just out of instinct! If your thoughts can intersect with her location, it'll reverse process and reunite her consciousness with her physical form."

Donna only understood about half of that and very vaguely, but she trusted her husband. She turned to Zara and crawled closer on the bed, careful of the wires and laid next to her and took her hand.

* * *

Zara looked up. She was at some kind of party. There were lots of people dancing. She looked around the room and spotted her grandmother, but what was she doing here? What was going on?

She caught sight of a white dress, the big, poofy kind and looked up the skirt to see... it was Mummy!

"Mummy!," she shouted.

Mummy didn't notice. She kept dancing and Zara realized she was dancing with a man she didn't recognize.

"Mummy!," Zara shouted. She walked over and grabbed Donna's skirt. "Mummy, look at me!"

Donna blinked, then looked down, straight at Zara and didn't say anything. She continued dancing as if nothing happened.

Zara looked across the room. It was Daddy! He was looking through a camera. Zara ran over.

"Daddy!," she shouted.

"Play it again," said the Doctor.

"They've all had a look," the cameraman said. "They said sell it to 'You've Been Framed.' More like the news."

"Daddy, look at me!," she screamed.

"That looks like Huon particles..."

"Daddy!," Zara screamed.

"Is he your dad?"

Zara turned to see a little girl with dark skin and curly hair. She was standing next to a blond boy.

"Why are you in your pajamas?," asked the boy.

"I was going with Father Christmas to the North Pole," said Zara.

"Father Christmas?," asked the girl.

"Can you ask him if I'm getting a PSP?," asked the boy.

Zara sobbed. "I'm sorry! Why won't they look at me?!"

The Doctor started running.

"Daddy!," shouted Zara.

Donna stopped and looked at Lance. "Did you hear someone shout?"

"Uh, no."

"Come on by the tree," said the girl. "I'm Connie. This is Eric."

Connie led Zara over.

"I don't think the grown-ups can see you," said Connie.

"You're a ghost!," exclaimed Eric.

"I don't want to be a ghost!"

"Get away from the tree!," the Doctor shouted.

Zara turned to see her mummy and daddy running towards the Christmas tree and pushing all the children away. Not knowing what else to do, she grabbed a piece of Donna's skirt. Donna looked down quickly, glancing at the bit of wrinkled fabric. She was soon distracted though as the baubles on the Christmas tree came out and began to hover as the party goers watched in awe.

They started to explode and everyone ran for cover. Zara kept up with Donna as she ducked behind an overturned table. She wrapped her arms around Donna's waist just as she darted out to pull down that man she had been dancing with.

"Mummy," said Zara. "I'm sorry. Please look at me."

Donna looked down, frowning.

"Oi! Robot Santas! Next time you're after a man with a sonic screwdriver, don't let him near the sound system!"

Next was an awful noise. Everyone covered their ears. It stopped and Donna finally got out from under the table and headed out.

"Mummy!," Zara shouted.

Donna looked around. "Was someone crying?" She turned to the other children. "Connie? Eric?"

* * *

Zara looked up again. She was back in her house! She had done it! She was home!

She looked around, though. Esther was sitting on the sofa next to Uncle Ianto. Why was the tree in a different spot?

"Uncle Ianto?"

He didn't turn and continued sipping his tea.

"Esther!," said Zara.

Esther looked up from a new candy cane shaped rawhide and barked.

"Oi, hush you," said Donna. "Have your candy cane."

Esther resumed her fervent chewing.

Donna looked at Ianto. "Alright, what's the story with this big surprise? You two were working on it half the night."

"I'm not telling," said Ianto.

Zara then noticed her mother's swollen belly which she rubbed affectionately.

"Close your eyes!," the Doctor shouted from the kitchen.

"Honestly?," asked Donna.

"It's a surprise!"

Donna shook her head and closed her eyes. The Doctor rolled in what Zara immediately recognized as her old pink pram. But it was sitting in her room on the TARDIS and this one looked brand new and had a big red bow on the top of it.

"Okay," said the Doctor with a big grin, "you can open them."

Donna opened her eyes and her jaw dropped. "You went back for it?"

"I did."

"But, John, it was so expensive-"

"Never mind that."

"Seven hundred and fifty pounds, I think I ought to."

"The sales girl said it was the best and you are the best, so you deserve the best."

Donna's eyes started to well up. She went to wipe them.

"Mummy?," asked Zara.

"Donna?," asked the Doctor.

"Sorry," said Donna, starting to tear up. "Hormones, you know."

"Come here," said the Doctor, taking her in a big hug.

"Mummy?," asked Zara. "Mummy?"

"Oh," said Donna, backing off from the hug.

"What's wrong?," the Doctor asked quickly.

"Nothing," said Donna, shaking her head. "She's just kicking like crazy all of a sudden. You should feel it."

Donna took the Doctor's hand and placed it over her belly.

"Oh, blimey, that is something," said the Doctor. He narrowed his eyes at Donna. "You're sure you're alright? How's your head?"

Donna rolled her eyes. "It's only a bit of kicking. I'm fine. Honestly."

* * *

Zara looked up again. She was still in the sitting room, but the tree had moved. There was a sea of wrapping paper on the floor that Esther was trying to delicately manuever through. Behind her, a baby was following trying to attach bows to the dog's coat.

She realized the baby was her.

The baby looked up. "Zara!"

"Oh, what is it, sweetheart?," asked Donna.

Zara looked to see her mummy and daddy on the sofa.

The baby frowned and pointed. "Zara!"

The Doctor got up. "What are you looking at?"

"Zara!"

The Doctor leaned down and picked the baby up off the floor as he stared past Zara.

"Oh, let her play in the paper," said Donna. "She's having so much fun."

"She thinks she sees something."

"Zara!"

* * *

Zara looked around, she had changed places once again. This time she was next to the tree. Chloe and Geoffrey were playing. So was... tart? Tart as a little girl. Esther barked at the ruckus. Next to her was a baby. A ginger one who giggled at the spectacle.

"Oi! Settle down!," the Doctor called from the hall.

Chloe stopped running. "Daddy, can we open a present?"

"It's Christmas Eve! We get to open one!," said Geoffrey. "You promised!"

The Doctor paused. "Let's just wait for Zara, eh?"

Chloe sighed. "Fine."

Zara watched as her mother came downstairs.

"So?," asked the Doctor.

Donna shook her head. "She's just so sad."

They sat on the stairs. Zara edged closer.

"She shouldn't be," said the Doctor. "It's my fault."

"Oh, stop it. I'll not have both of you doing it. It's no one's fault, it just happened and frankly, I prefer it to the alternative."

"And what do we tell Melody?"

"What we have been. Her grandfather will be by tomorrow and you'll have sorted something soon enough."

The Doctor looked at Donna. "And what if I can't sort anything? What if there's nothing to be done?"

"Don't get all defeatist on Christmas," said Donna. "Besides, plenty of time to get depressed later."

The Doctor didn't answer.

"Okay," said Donna, "I'm going to go order Chinese. Then we are going to have a quiet Christmas and watch telly with the kids."

The baby in the living room called out and Donna hurried over.

* * *

Zara looked up. She was in her house again, but now the furniture was different. She saw Mummy and Daddy were decorating the tree.

The Doctor looked at his watch. "Where's she gone off to?"

Donna shrugged. "She said she had to pick up something."

"He's coming here, though."

"He's not bad," said Donna. "He's got a Nobel Prize."

"When it's in Economics, Donna, it's not actually a Nobel, it's the Riksbank Prize in Economics in Memory of Alfred Nobel."

Donna narrowed her eyes. "And how many have you got?"

"That's not the point."

"No, the point is, she loves him."

The Doctor froze with the bauble in his hand and turned to face Donna. "Did she say that?"

Donna nodded with a smile. "As much. She's as cagey as you sometimes."

The Doctor stood frozen.

"She's always going to be your little girl," said Donna.

"Is she going to leave the TARDIS?"

"I don't know. That's up to her."

"She can't leave the TARDIS."

"I don't know," Donna repeated. "Besides, he could always come with us."

"Live with us?," the Doctor asked.

Donna rolled her eyes. "I have explained to put your mind at ease that they would have to be married."

"Them being married does not put my mind at ease, Donna. Then they'll think they can do married things..."

"Oh, my God, you are ridiculous!"

"Gran!"

Zara turned to look. A little boy and girl were coming in. The boy had brown skin and hair, the girl was ginger like her. Just like her, in fact. They held up some handmade baubles adorned with glitter.

"We finished!," said the girl.

"John, Gillian, those look wonderful!," said Donna. She looked over at the Doctor. "Don't they?"

"Brilliant!"

"Will you put them up high?," asked John.

"Yes, I will," said the Doctor, taking them and putting them on the highest bit of the tree.

"Gran?," asked Gillian.

"Yes, love?"

She looked to John and back at her grandparents. "Do you think Mummy will come this year?"

The Doctor and Donna exchanged glances.

"I don't know, sweethearts," said Donna. "But she knows she has an invitation."

"Maybe she lost the address," said John.

The Doctor looked down. "You know it's nothing to do with you two. Your mummy just..."

"We're going to have a great Christmas," said Donna.

John and Gillian sat on the sofa, looking sad. Gillian looked up to see Zara as the Doctor and Donna started chatting.

"Auntie Zara?," asked Gillian.

"Auntie Zara's just popped out for a bit!," Donna called. "She'll be back soon!"

"Who are you?," asked Zara.

Gillian looked at John and back. "What's going on? Why are you little?"

"She's littler than us!," said John.

The doorbell rang.

"That'll be Grant," said Donna.

The Doctor groaned. "Right. The daughter stealer."

"Behave," Donna said sternly.

The Doctor walked towards the front door. He opened it and a man entered. He had dark hair, olive skin and nice eyes. Zara couldn't help thinking that there was something very special about him, but she didn't know what.

"Hello, Doctor! Happy Christmas!," he said.

"Happy Christmas," muttered the Doctor.

"Grant," said Donna, "come in. Zara's just popped out for a minute. She'll be back soon."

"Who is he?," Zara whispered as Grant started helping Donna put the gifts he had brought under the tree.

John narrowed his eyes at her. "That's your boyfriend."

"We've got biscuits!"

Zara looked up. It was Trevor or rather, Geoffrey. He was carrying in a plate of biscuits and he put them on the tea table in front of the kids.

"Fresh from the oven," he said, "made specially for the two most special son and daughter in the universe."

John and Gillian picked up a biscuit each.

"Oi, what do you two say?," asked Donna.

"Thank you, Daddy," they said in dutiful unison.

"You're welcome," said Geoffrey. He walked back towards Donna. "I thought you were going to interfere less."

"It's just good manners, Geoffrey, that's all," said Donna.

There was a scream from the other room. A blonde Zara didn't recognize ran in holding a mobile. She was being chased by... Chloe. Only she was tall. All grown up.

"Give me my mobile back!," Chloe shouted.

"What?," asked the blonde. "And lose all your love notes?"

"Love notes?!," shouted the Doctor.

"You are so immature!," Chloe shouted, swiping at the mobile as the blonde held it in the air.

The Doctor took the mobile out of the blonde's hand. He started reading it. "Oh, Chloe, this is all just rubbish. You can't be serious about this one." He passed the phone to Donna.

"Oh, God!," said Donna. She looked at Chloe. "This is awful. No way."

"I'm a grown woman. You can't tell me what to do."

"I'm just helping you since you've inherited my taste in men."

"Oi," said the Doctor.

"Well, up until you," said Donna. She handed the mobile back to Chloe. "Seriously, though, no."

"Here have a biscuit," said Gillian, passing one to Zara. It fell to the floor.

Donna looked over at Geoffrey. "When did they get imaginary friends?"

"They don't have imaginary friends, Mum," said Geoffrey.

The Doctor looked over. "Gillian, who are you talking to?"

"Auntie Zara," said Gillian.

Grant spoke. "I thought she popped out."

The Doctor and Donna looked at each other.

The Doctor spoke. "Gillian, what color pajamas does Auntie Zara have on?"

"Pink."

"She never said," Donna started.

"What's going on?," asked the blonde.

The Doctor walked over and scanned Zara with the sonic screwdriver.

"It's Zara, only it's Zara from years ago, when she was a little girl and she's a psychic projection through time and space."

"I don't understand," said Grant.

"Oh, did we never mention the time Zara saved Christmas?," asked the Doctor.

"I've heard the one with the reindeer," said Grant.

"Ought to hear about the snowmen," said Geoffrey.

The Doctor turned. "Jenny, go keep the others from coming in here. We can't expose any more of the future than we have."

The blonde ran off.

"What do we do?," asked Geoffrey.

"She's got to connect psychically with the thing that will take her home." He turned to Donna. "The strongest bond in the universe."

Donna approached gingerly. She knelt down by the space the Doctor was scanning.

"Can she hear me?," Donna asked the kids.

"Yes, Mummy," said Zara.

Donna blinked. "Sorry, did she just say something?"

"Yes," said Gillian.

"Slight change on the sonic there," said the Doctor. "You've blinked that blink before."

"Yes," said Donna. "Zara, just think of me. I'm waiting for you right back where you started. I'm always there for you."

Zara threw her arms around Donna and expected to fall right through. Instead, she found her eyes opened again.

* * *

She was laying on that scary white bed again only this time her mum was there, she looked like she had been crying.

"Mummy."

"Hi, sweetheart," said Donna, pulling her closer.

"Don't try to move quite yet, Zara, just stay still while you come back into sync," said the Doctor.

Zara looked around. There were the blue lizard men, Amy, Alex and Stefano.

"You all came to the North Pole," said Zara.

"We'd go anywhere for you, Zara," answered the Doctor. "End of the universe."

Donna pulled Zara closer and she felt the warmth of her embrace.

Then the alarms started going off.

The Doctor turned to Carmichael. "What's that?"

"Fools!," spat Carmichael. "This planet will not survive your incompetence!"

He batted an arm- if it was that- at Alex and sent him to the floor. Alex sprung back up and shot several rounds at him.

"Enough with the guns!," shouted the Doctor. "I don't do guns!"

Amy looked at the other lizard men. "What is he talking about?"

"The contingency plan," explained the assistant, "in case the Shadow Proclamation discovered it. Destroy the evidence."

"What evidence?," asked Stefano.

"The Earth," said the Doctor. He turned to Donna. "Go back in the TARDIS. I'll go and stop it."

"How?," asked Donna.

"Still working that out," said the Doctor as he ran off.


	9. Chapter 9

Author's Notes: I do not own Doctor Who. Thanks for the reads and reviews! Glad you enjoyed it.

* * *

The Doctor followed Carmichael through a series of winding tunnels and catwalks. It wasn't long before he finally noticed that Alex wasn't far behind him.

"What did you follow me for?!," spat the Doctor.

"What? And let you save the world on your own?"

"Done it plenty of times before."

"Me, too."

The Doctor cast another glance at him. "What is it that you do for MI6?"

"And what is it that you've done?"

The ground shook violently. The Doctor found an exit from the tunnels out onto a frozen tundra with a pole.

"What the hell's the pole doing here?," asked Alex.

"Well, it's the North Pole," said the Doctor.

"You mean there's a literal North Pole?"

The Doctor hurried over and pointed his sonic at the pole.

"Why's it got red and white stripes?," asked Alex.

"How should I know? It's your planet!," said the Doctor.

As he said so, a panel popped open on the pole revealing a complex network of alien circuitry. "Oh, look at that! There's been some cowboys in here!"

Alex frowned. "What are you on about? Cowboys?"

"This is a destabilization matrix, tie it into the Earth's magnetic pole, right on the axis and wham! The planet falls apart from its center!"

"Can you stop it?," asked Alex.

"What? You mean shooting it won't help?," the Doctor said as he put his sonic screwdriver between his teeth to manipulate the exposed wiring and circuitry.

"You know it's very easy to talk from the sidelines," said Alex. "Or maybe when you can go hide in your phone box."

"I don't hide," said the Doctor.

"Really? Is that why you have your wife lie for you?"

"Do you mind? I am saving a planet here! Your planet! A little cooperation might be in order!"

The ground shook and the Doctor put the last bits into place. The shaking ceased.

Suddenly, they looked up to see Carmichael and he was transforming.

"What's he doing?," asked Alex.

"What's it look like?" The Doctor paused. "Uh, well, yes, maybe if we reverse the polarity of-"

The Doctor was interrupted by the firing of gunshots, Carmichael lay dead on the ground.

The Doctor turned to Alex as he packed the gun away.

"What was that for?"

"What? Stopping the creature that was about to kill you?"

"This is why I don't do guns!"

"Oh, yes, how dare I save your life. I am a monster."

The Doctor took a breath, stymied.

"Shall we head back inside?," asked Alex. "No bloody clue what I am going to tell my office about this mess."

They started back.

"So," said the Doctor, "how long have you been in love with Donna?"

"Oh, you know, just since I was nine."

"Didn't mention it? That's stupid."

"You bet," said Alex.

* * *

The TARDIS materialized back in the sitting room. From what Donna could see, the sun was up. The Doctor was carrying Zara wrapped in a blanket.

Ianto was asleep on the sofa with Chloe and Esther on his lap. Jack was holding the baby and looked exhausted.

"What are you people feeding this kid? He doesn't stop!"

"Looks alright to me," said Amy.

"That's because you haven't spent the last six hours playing peek a boo with the kid!," Jack growled.

"Oi, don't beg to be godfather then complain about the work," said Donna. She took the happily gurgling baby from Jack's arms.

"Oh, yeah, what a demon," said Amy.

"So, what it is, like another dimension..." said Stefano.

"How do you fold another dimension into a police box?," asked Alex.

"I could explain it," said the Doctor. "You might not understand it."

"Would you two stop?," asked Donna.

"I really ought to be going," said Alex. "I haven't reported in to my office and my mother will be expecting me round."

Donna walked over. "Thank you."

"My pleasure, Donna, as always," said Alex, giving her a peck on the cheek. He turned. "Doctor."

"Alex."

The men shook hands.

"Treat her badly and I'll be in like a shot," said Alex. "Amy, Stefano."

"Bye," said Amy with an amused grin as Alex left.

The Doctor looked at Donna in shock. "Do you believe the nerve on him?!"

Donna shrugged. "It's nice to know I have other offers."

"Other offers?!," screeched the Doctor.

Chloe stirred awake and looked around. "It's Christmas!"

Zara awoke in the Doctor's arms. "Christmas?"

"Okay, no one's slept, but yes, Christmas," said Donna. "Amy, you start a pot of coffee. Girls, come on."

Zara and Chloe hurried to the tree to look at their assembled loot. Amy went off to the kitchen.

"I'll just be going then," said Stefano.

Zara looked over desperately at Donna.

"Stay," said Donna.

Stefano shook his head. "No, I couldn't-"

"I'm not going to send you out into the cold on Christmas Day," said Donna. "Now, put your pack down, take your coat off and have a seat. No use standing there, come on."

Stefano did as he was ordered. The others sat down while the girls started at their presents. The Doctor took the baby from Donna.

"Which one came from Father Christmas?," asked Zara.

"Father Christmas brought this one," said Jack handing her a shiny silver package that Donna was fairly convinced was aluminum foil.

Zara tore it open and revealed the contents: it was the doll. Donna had to admit, it did look like the one she had gotten Zara in the parallel world. The boys had done a very good job.

Zara frowned. "Oh."

"What's the matter, sweetheart?," asked Donna. "Isn't this what Father Christmas brought you?"

"It is," said Zara.

"Then what's the matter?," asked the Doctor.

"I meant the box," said Zara.

"The box?!," Jack shouted.

"Jack..." Ianto warned.

Donna thought back. Yes, Zara and some of the Colasanto children had played with a giant box that had just appeared in the street one day.

"Well," said Donna, "it's not his fault he didn't realize you meant the box, is it?"

"No," said Zara. She got up and walked over to Donna and helped herself into her mother's lap.

"What's wrong, love?," asked Donna.

"Nothing."

"Don't you want to open the rest of your presents?"

"In a minute," she said, wrapping her arms around Donna.

Donna looked at the Doctor. Her lip was quivering and she was fairly certain that she was going to cry.

"Well," said Donna, "Happy Christmas, Zara."

* * *

The kids- including Jack- fell asleep in the sitting room, amidst the remains of Christmas morning. Donna sat next to the Doctor on the sofa.

The news presenter spoke. "Startling video from London last night confirming eyewitness reports of Santa and his sleigh in West London-"

"Look at that!," said the Doctor. "Video confirming just what Carmichael tried to get children not to believe."

"With Zara confirming what Father Christmas gave her, the polling numbers ought to be reversed," said Ianto.

"Everything back to normal," said Donna, cuddling the baby.

Amy checked her watch. "Doctor, I think I should go."

"So soon?," asked the Doctor, teasing just a little.

"It's Christmas Day and Rory hasn't even called. What if something's wrong? What if the house has burned down?"

"What if I take you home?," asked the Doctor.

"What?," asked Amy.

"That's why he hasn't called Amy," said the Doctor. "You're already there."

"Yeah," said Amy. "I want to go."

"Stefano?," asked the Doctor.

Stefano looked up. "What? Me?"

"Christmas Day," said Donna. "Your mum must want to see you."

Stefano shook his head. "I don't know."

"The row you two had," said Donna. "Was it really all that bad?"

"I guess not."

"Then let the Doctor take you home," said Donna.

* * *

"So," said Donna, "that's another Christmas gone."

Dinner had been eaten. Jack and Ianto were headed back to Cardiff. Amy was safely back in Leadworth on Christmas Eve and Stefano was back with his mum, who was beyond thrilled to see him. The children were in bed and the house was a mess. Esther searched through the fray in hope of finding more treats.

"Yeah," said the Doctor, helping her gather up the last of the wrapping paper.

"You don't mind always being here at Christmas, do you?," asked Donna.

The Doctor shrugged. "Why would I-"

"It's just, I love our life, I do, but the children. They need something to count on. They need a place to call home, somewhere they can always find us so I want to bring them here so someday, when maybe they're mad at us or they have tart girlfriends we don't approve of, I want them to come back and know where to find us."

"I understand that," said the Doctor. "And I don't mind being here at Christmas. Seems like I end up here a lot, anyway."

"You do," said Donna with a smile.

They looked over to see Zara.

"What are you doing?," asked the Doctor. "You're supposed to be asleep."

"It was Gran's sprouts, wasn't it?," asked Donna. "I said not to use so much butter."

"When I was in that machine, I saw things," said Zara.

The Doctor plucked her up off the floor. "Scary things?"

"No," Zara admitted. "I don't know."

"Don't worry," said the Doctor. "None of that can hurt you now. You're here with us."

Zara relaxed against her father's shoulder as Donna rubbed her back.

"What did you get Mummy?," asked Zara.

"Well, I sort of ran out of time for that," said the Doctor. "I had planned to pop out last night and get us a new song."

Donna rolled her eyes. "It's still our song, you daft Martian."

"I was going to get us another one! I was really close!"

"Right, then Freddie Mercury went and mucked it up," said Donna. She frowned. "What song was it?"

"No song," the Doctor said quickly. He looked back at Zara. "What do we do with you, my Zara?"

"Come on," said Donna. She flipped on the TV and sat on the sofa. The Doctor sat next to her and Zara took the chance to lay across both their laps. Esther jumped up to join them.

"Yeah," said the Doctor. "This is a good way to spend Christmas."

Donna smiled and rested her head on the Doctor's shoulder.


End file.
